CHICAGO -- There are quite a few ways to describe the White Sox 7-6 walk-off victory over the A¡¯s before a raucous crowd of 21,478 on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

¡°Much needed,¡± said starting pitcher Chris Flexen, who pitched well enough to win with eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings.

¡°We just battled,¡± catcher Chuckie Robinson said. ¡°We stuck together as a team.¡±

¡°Roller coaster,¡± said interim manager Grady Sizemore, preceded by an exasperated or relieved burst of laughter. ¡°Just no easy wins for us.¡±

The word ¡°exciting¡± also could be incorporated into the equation, from a good and bad sense. The White Sox held leads of 3-0 after five innings and 6-3 going into the ninth, but gave away both.

Andrew Benintendi didn¡¯t let the game reach extra innings, as he launched a 1-2 hanging slider from Hogan Harris down the right-field line for his 17th home run leading off the bottom of the ninth and starting up the rare celebration on the South Side.

It was Benintendi¡¯s second home walk-off winner, beating the Rays on April 27 with a two-run blast. As the designated hitter on this night, Benintendi was down in the cage working on left-handed sliders to get ready for his at-bat.

¡°I hit it and I was like, ¡®I don¡¯t know, I think it has the distance but whether it was going to hook enough or not,¡¯¡± Benintendi said. ¡°I think I hit it off the end [of the bat] enough to where it took a lot of the spin off. It didn¡¯t veer to the right as hard. Glad it didn¡¯t.¡±

Justin Anderson opened the ninth in search of the White Sox first save since Chad Kuhl on Aug. 16 in Houston, but his four-pitch walk to Lawrence Butler was not a good way to start. When Brent Rooker singled and JJ Bleday walked, the White Sox were in trouble with the bases loaded and none out.

Third baseman Lenyn Sosa¡¯s fielding error on a possible Shea Langeliers double-play grounder allowed two runs to score, and Zack Gelof¡¯s high-hopping single to left off Gus Varland brought home Bleday with the tying run.

But left fielder Zach DeLoach threw out Langeliers at the plate, thanks to a leaping grab and tag by Robinson.

Oakland unsuccessfully challenged the home-plate blocking rule as Robinson¡¯s athletic feat allowed the White Sox to escape with a 6-6 tie.

¡°First and foremost, I was just trying to make sure I could catch the ball,¡± Robinson said. ¡°So, I gave myself a little room, scooted back a little bit, and I jumped up, and it put me in a good position to tag him.¡±

¡°It was a great job there by Chuckie,¡± Sizemore said. ¡°Unbelievable play to adjust, get the ball and still get the tag on. That was a rough inning. It was looking like it could have got away from us. If we don¡¯t make that play, I don¡¯t know what happens.¡±

What happened was the White Sox enjoyed some home cooking for the first time since a 12-2 shellacking of the Yankees on Aug. 12 and ended a franchise-worst 16-game home losing streak. The walk-off also marked just the second home victory in the South Siders¡¯ last 30 games.

Chicago¡¯s overall ledger improved to 34-115, meaning the Sox need to finish 9-4 in the final 13 to avoid matching the 1962 Mets at 120 losses. Flexen¡¯s winless streak has now gone 22 straight starts, which represents the longest such run of futility in franchise history.

¡°Result-wise, I was pretty on,¡± Flexen said. ¡°Chuckie and I had a really good mix today, and I thought our offense being able to get off to an early jump, I pitched with a little more confidence there.

¡°I've had a struggle with that in the past, but I was able to hold it down today. Big one to be able to pull that through.¡±

Nicky Lopez, Luis Robert Jr., Benintendi and Gavin Sheets combined for 11 of the team¡¯s 16 hits from the top four spots of the order, with Sheets also going deep.

Yes, it was much needed, a battle, a roller coaster, and as per this White Sox season, a little bit frustrating with a brief feeling of hopelessness.

It also was well deserved for the home fans, who were well overdue for a little happiness.

¡°Every win is much needed, especially in our situation. What? We¡¯d lost 16 home games in a row?¡± Benintendi said. ¡°So it felt nice with the good crowd tonight.¡±