Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts, right, is congratulated by Hanley Ramirez after his two run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Boston- The Boston Red Sox pounded the A’s Tuesday night as Mookie Betts hit two homers and a triple that drove in six runs and the Red Sox won 11-1. The A’s Sean Manaea, who is left-handed, did not have a happy experience in Fenway Park this evening. Fenway has been a graveyard for lefties over the years, and Manaea became another victim.

The A’s, on the strength of a Jed Lowrie double, plated the first run of the game in the first inning. The lead didn’t last long as the Bosox tallied five times in the bottom of the second. The big blow was a triple off the bat of Mookie Betts. Betts homered in the fourth with a man aboard and the Sox extended the lead to 7-1. Manaea’s night was over. He went just 3 and 2/3rds innings, and he gave up eleven hits and seven runs.

The Sox scored two in the fifth and two in the sixth. Mookie Betts hit his second homer of the night with a man aboard off Raul Alcantara to make it an 11-1 game. There was no more scoring after the sixth inning.

Game Notes. Eduardo Rodriguez evened his record at 5-5 and is now 2-0 versus the A’s in his career. He went six innings and gave up just one run and one hit. Manaea absorbed the loss, and his record is now even at 10-10.

The hitting stars for Boston were Dustin Pedroia, Chris Young, Xander Bogaerts, and Mookie Betts. Betts became the first Red Sox player to have two consecutive 20-20 seasons. The only other Red Sox player to have two 20-20 season was Jackie Jensen who did it in 1954 and 1959.

The line score for the A’s was one run, three hits, and two more errors. The Red Sox line was eleven runs on sixteen hits and no errors. With the win, the Red Sox, coupled with the Yankees’ loss to Tampa Bay, increased their lead in the Eastern Division to four games.

Just a historical note: The Cleveland Indians tied the A’s record of twenty consecutive wins Tuesday night to tie the American League record. The Major League record is held by the New York Giants. They won twenty-six in a row way back when.

Game two of the series will be Wednesday night in Boston. Jharel Cotton will go for Oakland, and the Sox will counter with lefty Drew Pomeranz. Game time is at 4:10 pm.