The Athletics never found much footing Friday night, and the White Sox took control early.

Chicago piled up 15 hits, chased Aaron Civale before the fifth inning was done and rolled to a 9-2 win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park. Munetaka Murakami delivered the biggest blow with a seventh-inning grand slam, while Davis Martin controlled the game from the mound and handed the Athletics a flat start to the series.

That dropped the A’s back to .500 at 10-10. It also gave Civale his first loss of the season after a strong opening stretch.

Civale never found a clean lane

The White Sox put pressure on Civale right away.

Andrew Benintendi doubled to open the game’s first scoring chance, and Colson Montgomery brought him home with an RBI double in the first. Then Chicago kept the traffic coming in the third. Murakami and Miguel Vargas opened the inning with singles, Montgomery added another RBI hit and Edgar Quero followed with a run-scoring groundout for a 3-0 lead.

The Athletics got one back in the fourth when Shea Langeliers doubled and Nick Kurtz lined an RBI single to right. But Civale could not keep the game there.

Luisangel Acuña doubled home a run in the fifth, and Benintendi followed with another RBI double before Elvis Alvarado replaced Civale. Civale’s final line was 4 2/3 innings, 11 hits, five runs, four walks and four strikeouts.

That was more than enough for Chicago to stay in control.

Martin kept the A’s quiet

While Civale labored, Davis Martin stayed in command.

The White Sox right-hander allowed just three hits and one run over seven innings. He walked two and struck out four, and the A’s never built much consistent pressure against him. They managed only four hits all night and grounded into two double plays.

Langeliers and Jeff McNeil each doubled, and Kurtz drove in the first run. But the Athletics had little else going. Tyler Soderstrom went hitless in four at-bats, and Jacob Wilson was held without a hit.

That kept the game from ever tightening.

The seventh put it away

The White Sox had already built a 5-1 lead when the game got away for good.

Alvarado retired the first two batters in the seventh after Sam Antonacci was caught stealing. Then Chase Meidroth walked, Acuña walked and Benintendi singled to load the bases. Murakami followed with a grand slam to center, his sixth homer of the season, and the lead jumped to 9-1.

That was the knockout swing.

Justin Sterner gave the Athletics 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, and Andy Ibáñez added an RBI groundout in the eighth. But by then, the game had long been decided.