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White Sox manager Rick Renteria has been talking with Yoan Moncada about his focus lately.

The talented second baseman sure looked locked in on Sunday.

Moncada broke out of a slump with a three-run homer and six RBIs , and the White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 10-3 for a split of their four-game series.

”Anytime you’re going through a rough moment, you have doubts, you have questions,” Moncada said through an interpreter. ”But when you keep working hard, you can answer those questions.

”I keep grinding and just working hard.”

Daniel Palka and Yolmer Sanchez also connected for the White Sox, who had lost nine of 10. Carlos Rodon (1-2) pitched a season-high eight innings in his fourth start after missing the beginning of the year while recovering from shoulder surgery last September.

Moncada, who hit .183 over the previous 35 games, gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead with a three-run double in the fifth. Moncada then scored on Avisail Garcia’s single, and Jose Abreu added another RBI single.

Palka, Sanchez and Moncada all went deep in the sixth. Moncada belted a three-run drive for his 10th homer, making it 10-2 Chicago.

”I think he’s probably giving a little bit of a wakeup call to himself in terms of where he sees himself ,” Renteria said. ”I think he’s also learned that truly you have to take every single pitch of a game into consideration because they all matter.

”I think he’s starting to realize that maybe I have to have a little bit more focus and intensity.”

Oakland set a modern major league record when Mark Canha hit a drive to left on Rodon’s first pitch of the fifth, extending the A’s streak to 25 straight road games with a homer. Canha also opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second.

A’s right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. He permitted only one baserunner through the first four, but got into trouble with two out in the fifth.

The rally started with back-to-back singles by Omar Narvaez and Leury Garcia, and then Blackburn hit ninth hitter Adam Engel with a pitch.

”Garcia didn’t look very good on a couple changeups I threw. I threw another one that was a little up and he kind of flipped it over there (right field),” Blackburn said. ”Then I hit (Engel), and it was kind of downhill from there.”

Rodon allowed two runs and seven hits. The eight innings matched his career high.

”It was good to go eight and just be ahead of guys,” Rodon said. ”There’s up and down days when you go through shoulder surgery or any kind of surgery for a player. You just have to work through it, try to make your way back.”

ANOTHER STOP

Well-traveled right-hander Edwin Jackson will be activated on Monday and start for Oakland at Detroit.

The A’s will become his 13th major league team, which ties retired right-hander Octavio Dotel for the major league record. The 34-year-old went 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Nashville. He owns a 98-120 major league record and 4.67 ERA in 15 seasons.

”I’m probably the only guy in the clubhouse that has never met him, but I did earlier today,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

Outfielder Nick Martini will be sent to Triple-A Nashville to open a spot for Jackson on the roster.

HISTORIC HOMER

Melvin said the team celebrated Canha’s record-setting home run in the dugout.

”It’s nice to hang your hat on , but it certainly would have been a little better if we had won the game,” Melvin said.

The previous record was set by the Orioles in 1996.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: RHP Daniel Mengden (sprained right foot) returned to the Bay Area to consult with team physicians. The injury is not believed to be related to his previous right foot injuries. ”We’ll probably know a little bit more in the next couple of days,” Melvin said. … INF Matt Chapman (right hand contusion) could have a cortisone shot in the wrist area on Monday and will sit out the Tigers series. He had an injection in his thumb last Monday. The hope is the trouble spot has been localized and he’ll be available on the next homestand.

White Sox: RHP prospect Dane Dunning left his start Saturday for Double-A Birmingham with right elbow soreness, Renteria said. He will undergo an MRI.

UP NEXT

Athletics: Jackson will make his A’s debut in the opener of a four-game series in Detroit. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.95 ERA) goes for the Tigers.

White Sox: Following an off day, the White Sox begin a three-game set against visiting Minnesota on Tuesday. RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-5, 3.59 ERA) opposes Twins RHP Lance Lynn (5-5, 4.64 ERA) in the opener.

The Chicago White Sox had the fog machine and strobe lights going after their latest victory. Considering how little they have had to celebrate this season, they’re not going to let the opportunities go by.

James Shields won for the first time since opening day, Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez homered to lead off a three-run first, and Chicago beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 on Tuesday night.

Shields (2-7) gave up one run and four hits in seven innings after going 12 starts and 13 appearances without a win. The veteran right-hander struck out two and did not walk a batter in his first victory since the opener at Kansas City.

”We’re trying to celebrate each win ,” Shields said. ”We’re gonna go game by game and try to win the series and enjoy the moment.”

Moncada said through an interpreter that the White Sox started breaking out the fog machine and strobe lights a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, he and Sanchez got the party started .

They connected on consecutive pitches from Adam Plutko. Matt Davidson drove RBI doubles off the center-field wall in both the first and a two-run fifth , and the White Sox beat the AL Central leaders after losing their first four meetings this season.

Recalled from Triple-A Columbus, Plutko (3-1) got tagged for five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old righty won his first three major league starts this season before getting knocked around by Chicago.

Shields hit Francisco Lindor in the right foot with his first pitch of the game. He also gave up a sacrifice fly to Jose Ramirez in the sixth, but not much else in a dominant outing .

”He doesn’t have the same stuff that he once had, so he’s learned how to be a pitcher,” Jason Kipnis said. ”To live on the corners, to get guys to hit off his pitches, and he’s done a good job with it and he did a great job tonight. As a team, we’ve got to make an adjustment faster to that, not be chasing those type of pitches.”

HANGING ON

Cleveland stranded two on in the ninth and came up short after winning five of six.

Xavier Cedeno struck out Jason Kipnis with runners on first and third and one out. Yonder Alonso then took second on indifference before Joakim Soria retired Yan Gomes on a fly to the center-field warning track for his ninth save in 11 chances.

GOING DEEP

Moncada lined a 2-1 pitch over the center-field wall for his fourth career leadoff homer – all this season. Sanchez sent Plutko’s next offering out to right-center , giving Chicago back-to-back drives for the fourth time this season. The White Sox had not started a first inning with consecutive homers since Alen Hanson and Sanchez connected against Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer on Sept. 2.

QUOTABLE

”I feel like I’ve been pitching really well for the most part, a lot, this season. But wins haven’t come my way.” – Shields on the victory.

ROSTER MOVE

The Indians optioned catcher and outfielder Francisco Mejia back to Triple-A a day after recalling him, because catcher Roberto Perez did not need to go on the disabled list. Perez was hit by a pitch in the right wrist against Detroit on Sunday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Indians: 2B Kipnis (neck) was back in the lineup after sitting out the previous two games and so was 1B Edwin Encarnacion (ankle) after missing three in a row. … The Indians continue to hold off on activating OF Brandon Guyer (strained neck) after he was hit in the wrist by a pitch during a rehab game for Columbus on Sunday. Manager Terry Francona indicated they might wait until Thursday, when the White Sox send a lefty to the mound in Carlos Rodon. ”We’re just trying to make sure he’s ready,” Francona said.

White Sox: OF Avisail Garcia (strained right hamstring) went 1 for 2 for Triple-A Charlotte against Durham in his first rehab game on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer (5-4, 2.62 ERA) hopes to continue his mastery over the White Sox after going 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against them last year.

White Sox: RHP Dylan Covey (2-1, 2.22) tries to build on another strong outing after throwing three-hit ball over six innings in a 1-0 victory over Chris Sale and the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday.

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