Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Boston- The Red Sox and A’s played the final game of the three-game set Thursday afternoon. The Red Sox made it look easy as 1-2-3. That’s scoring one in the fifth, two in the sixth, and three in the seventh as they downed the A’s 6-2. Daniel Gossett started for Oakland and lefty Drew Pomeranz was on the hill for the Sox. Gossett pitched well for the first five innings of the game but ran into trouble in the sixth. Pomeranz, on the other hand, went six and gave up just one run and five hits on his way to his sixteenth win of the season.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth. The A’s put a run on the board after Matt Chapman walked to start the inning. Mark Canha, playing center field, doubled down the left field line to put men on at second and third with one out. A’s catcher Josh Phegley hit a sacrifice fly to left-field. Chapman tagged up and scored. The throw home was cut off by Pomeranz and Canha was caught napping off second base. He was caught in a rundown and thrown out at third to end the inning. The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when catcher Christian Vasquez led off with his fifth big fly of the year that went over the wall in left field.

The Red Sox plated two more runs in the sixth. With one out, Dustin Pedroia doubled. The next hitter, Andrew Benintendi also doubled to deep centerfield to drive in Pedroia. The ball almost went out of the park as it hit high off the wall. A’s manager Bob Melvin ended Gossett’s day. Ryan Dull was the new A’s pitcher. Dull retired Mookie Betts for the second out but could not get by Mitch Moreland. Moreland slugged the third double of the inning to drive in Benintendi.

In the seventh, the A’s missed an opportunity to get back into the game. They loaded the bases with two out, but Sox’ reliever Addison Reed was able to strike out Chad Pinder to end the threat. The Red Sox, in their turn in the bottom of the inning, scored three more times to take a 6-1 advantage. Melvin brought in the lefty reliever Sam Moll to pitch to the left-handed hitter, Rafael Devers. Devers beat the strategy as he hit a double down the line into the corner in left field. Brock Holt attempted a sacrifice bunt. Matt Chapman fielded the ball, but his throw was offline and hit Holt as he was about to reach first base. The error put men on at second and third with no out. Moll struck out Jackie Bradley, Jr. for the first out. The A’s brought in Santiago Casilla. Devers scored on a Dustin Pedroia sacrifice fly. Holt went to third on the play. Casilla drilled Xander Bogaerts with a pitch. Bogaerts stole second, and both men scored on Benintendi’s third hit of the day.

The A’s got one back in the eighth when Ryon Healy crushed a Joe Kelly pitch that went over the line in deep left-center field. There was no more scoring. The Red Sox win 6-2

Game Notes- The Red Sox won the series two games to one but lost the season’s series to the A’s. The A’s won the season four games to three. The ‘s used five pitchers in the game while Boston countered by using six.

Drew Pomeranz improved to 16-5. He is tied with Chris Sale for most wins on the Red Sox staff. The Sox activated David Price who had been on the DL. Price didn’t pitch and may be relegated to the bullpen in the next few days. Andrew Benintendi was the hitting star for Boston. He had two doubles and a single and drove in three runs. Gossett’s record is now 4-9.

The A’s travel to Philadelphia to play three games before moving on to Detroit to play the defanged Tigers for four next week. Daniel Mangden will pitch Friday and will be opposed by the Phillies Mark Leiter, Jr. Saturday will see Kendall Graveman versus Ben Lively and Sean Manaea will be trying to rebound from his tough outing Tuesday night and he will be opposed by Henderson Alvarez. Alvarez has no record this year.

Time of game was 3 hours and nineteen minutes and 35,470 Red Sox fans watched as the hometown team beat the visiting A’s.