OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The angst the Chicago White Sox feel when playing at Network Associates Coliseum never has been more evident by one single moment.

Rookie Bobby Crosby 's go-ahead home run in the sixth inning went off the glove of center fielder Aaron Rowand and over the wall as the Oakland Athletics rallied for a 5-3 triumph over the White Sox .

The A's have won 16 of their last 18 home games against the White Sox and took three of the four games in this series. In this one, the White Sox squandered a 3-1 lead with their All-Star righthander Esteban Loaiza on the mound.

Eric Chavez opened the sixth with a single and scored on Jermaine Dye 's double. After a groundout moved Dye to third, Loaiza was on the verge of escaping the jam by striking out Erubiel Durazo . But Crosby - who leads all American League rookies with 12 home runs - launched a 1-1 pitch to center that went off the glove of a leaping Rowand and over the wall.

"I went back for it, I didn't think it was going to go over right off his bat," Rowand said. "And when I went up to get it, when I hit the wall, it kind of jarred my glove around a little bit and when it jarred my glove, it hit the back of my glove and ricocheted off and I got back to the wall as best I could.

"It wasn't a towering drive where I had a lot of time to get underneath it and try to time my jump so I felt I should have caught it. I've always been under the assumption, if it hits your glove, you're supposed to catch it so I tried to do the best I could and just didn't come down with it today."

Crosby was as surprised as anyone that the ball left the park.

"I didn't think I got all of it," Crosby said. "When (Rowand) was running back on it, I was running the bases, going, 'ah he's going to catch it at the track' and it went over and I was pretty thrilled."

Oakland's Mark Mulder (13-2), who started and won Tuesday's All-Star Game, allowed three runs and three hits in 8 1/3 innings. He has won 11 straight decisions - two shy of the Oakland record set by Catfish Hunter in 1973 - and improved to 5-1 lifetime against Chicago.

"A lot of things are going right," said Mulder. "I mean seriously, the best way to describe it is, I'm just getting enough runs. The days when we score a handful of runs, maybe I don't pitch as well and still end up getting a win and there's days when I pitch real well and we score two runs and we win 2-1. So I've been getting just enough and keeping the team in the game and guys have come back for me and had some huge hits."

"That's my roomie," said Crobsy of Mulder as the two share a house with catcher Adam Melhuse . "It makes it a lot nicer at home when you get your roommate a win."

Octavio Dotel struck out two of the final three batters he faced to notch his fifth save.

"Mulder was out there to get just one batter in the ninth," A's manager Ken Macha said. "We brought Dotel over here to close and he's been pretty good so far. It's nice when your closer comes in to a standing ovation. I asked him if he had my back here and he said, 'absolutely.'"

Loaiza allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings.

"You never know what's going to happen," Loaiza said. "I threw a lot of good pitches and just had to work a little bit harder. I had a 1-2 count and threw a fastball (to Crosby). It hit Rowand's glove and it went over the wall but other than that, I think I threw the ball well today and I felt really good."

Every starter but Scott Hatteberg had a hit for Oakland, which is 25-8 against the White Sox since 2001. The A's also are 23-4 in the last 27 home games.

"Oh God, I won't have to see those people (the A's) until spring training at least at the Coliseum," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "They ought to move any place so the (AL) West will be better off, move this team out of here."

Rowand and Jose Valentin homered for Chicago, which is 10-17 against lefthander this season.

"It was a pitch that to be honest, if you ask me if I hit that ball hard, I hit it, but if ask me how I hit it, I've got no idea," Valentin said of his 19th homer - tops among major league shortstops.

"It's one of those situations where you go up there and put a good swing on it, no matter if you look good or bad. I put a good swing on it, the ball was jumping off my bat for a two-run homer but it wasn't enough."