by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Boston Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr gets an early shower after hitting two big flies against the Oakland A’s Wednesday night at Fenway Park

The Boston Red Sox continued to punish the A’s pitching as they scored thirteen times and has seventeen hits Wednesday night to defeat the A’s 13-3. The Red Sox outscored the A’s 40-15 in the three-game series and the A’s own a new record for futility as they allowed forty runs in the three games. That had never happened in the A’s history. The A’s also have allowed more than eleven runs in a game for the fourth straight time. They have lost five in a row, nine out of the last ten and fourteen of the last eighteen. Their record now stands at 14-21 for the season. A’s manager Bob Melvin needs to right the ship soon or the season could be lost.

Lefty Eric Surkamp started for the A’s Wednesday night. A’s manager Bob Melvin hoped that Surkamp could give the A’s at least five innings of work and let the bullpen get some rest. That did not happen. The A’s scored the first run of the game in the top of the second. The lead did not last long as Boston scored three times in their half of the inning.The big blow was by Jackie Bradley. Bradley hit a three-run dinger to propel Boston into the lead. The A’s tied the game in the top of the third. Khris Davis singled to drive in two to knot the score. Surkamp could not keep the Red Sox down. They scored their fourth run of the game in the bottom of the third. Melvin removed Surkamp with two out in the inning. Surkamp went two and 2/3rd innings and allowed four runs and four hits. The Red Sox own a 4-3 lead after three innings of play.

The Red Sox punished the A’s bullpen in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. In the fifth, with Mookie Betts aboard, Dustin Pedroia homered to make it 6-3. In the sixth the Sox scored five times to give them an 11-3 lead. In the eighth, Jackie Bradley hit his second home run of the game to make it 13-3. Bradley had six RBIs in the game and was 8-for-14 in the series. He had three home runs and drove in thirteen runs.

Game Notes- The A’s have an off-day on Thursday as they travel to Tampa Bay to face the Rays in the final three games of the nine-game road trip.

The A’s made some more moves on Wednesday. Jed Lowrie went on the 15-day DL. He hit a ball off his ankle in Baltimore. X-Rays were negative but Lowrie was on crutches and needs a few days to recover. The A’s recalled RHP Zach Neal from Nashville to fill a spot in the bullpen and made his Major League debut Wednesday night. He pitched three innings and gave up three runs. Eric Surkamp was also called up from Nashville. He Did not pitch well and took his third loss of the season

Ryan Dull, Marc Rzepczynski, and Zach Neal pitched batting practice as the bullpen is showing signs of weariness as the starters continue to pitch poorly.

Line score for Oakland was three runs, eight hits, and no errors. The Red Sox line was thirteen runs,seventeen hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and seventeen minutes. 33,283 watched Red Sox win the final game of the series and sweep the A’s.