Oakland Athletics Ryan Noda flips the ball back to pitcher Paul Blackburn against the Boston Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Jul 17, 2023 (AP News photo)

Boston (51-44). 110 004 001. – 7. 10. 0

Oakland (25-71) 000.000 000. – 0. 1. 0

Time: 2:37

Attendance: 9,987

Monday, July 17, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The Red Sox are having pitching trouble this season. Injuries have reduced their starting rotation to three, with two out of every five games featuring an opener. The team they fielded this evening had a respectable 50-44 won-lost record but nonetheless was in last place in the American League East, nine games behind the division leading Rays.

The Sox went the bullpen route again today, choosing as their opener Brennan Bernardino, who had shut out the A’s over two innings in his opener role ten days ago in Fenway. The young southpaw was followed by Nick Pivettta after Bernardino had completed his fourth consecutive scoreless frame against Oakland.

Pivetta was the real story of the night. He pitched six innings of no hit relief, walking two, and striking out 13 of the 20 batters he faced. He threw 87 pitches, 58 for strikes. He got credit for the Red Sox’ 7-0 win, his sixth against five defeats, and lowered his ERA to 4.44.

The A’s also started the evening in last place in their division, but east is east, and west is west. The former is the Lake Woebegone Division, where all teams are above average. The AL West, like the AL Central, is the dwelling place for a team that threatens to end the season with the lowest winning percentage in major league history, and that team is your for the nonce Oakland Athletics. The A’s often play bullpen games, but they’re usually not planned as such; they just occur as the natural outgrowth of poor starts by the regular rotation..

Blackburn, who didn’t come off the injured list until May 28 was 1-1, 4,86 at game time. He struggled in his first time through the lineup but rallied to hold Boston hitless in the third, fourth, and fifth innings before his troubles began resumed in the sixth. He ended up throwing 5-2/3 innings and allowing six runs, all earned, on nine hits, and two walks. He struck out two batters. 64 of his 97 deliveries counted as strikes. He took the loss, and now has a record of 1-2, 5.48)

The Bosox defied The Curse of the Leadoff (Leg) Double when Jarren Duran advanced to third on Alex Verdgo executed a productive ground out and Justin Turner hit a sacrifice fly to Seth Brown in right to start the game.

They defied The Curse again in the second when Seth Brown couldn’t get to Adam Duvalls’ fly in left, perhaps because of the way the shadows were falling on the grass before the lights had taken any effect. Triston Casas drove him in with a clean single to left, and the bay starters had a 2-0 jump on their hosts.

Boston had to wait an out before hitting its third inning two bagger. Verdugo hit it and died on second. They got another to lead off the sixth. It came from Turner’s bat, and it overcame The Curse, putting Boston ahead and ending Blackburn’s work for the evening. Masataka Yoshida followed Turner’s blow with a single that moved him to third.

Adam Duvall’s sac fly to right brought him home. Triston Casas walked. Christian Arroyo walked, and Connor Wong singled, and Yu Cheng hit a run producing ground out to third. That’s when Sam Moll took over for Blackburn and got the final out with Duran’s fly to left..

Moll retired the side in order in the seventh and then yielded to Angel Felipe, who did the same in the eighth. Boston loaded the bases against him in the ninth on a single and two walks On one of them, the third ball hit home plate umpire Emil Jiménez, who earlier had ejected Noda. The injury caused a delay, but Jiménez stayed in the game, and Turner hit into a force out at third that upped the visitors’ advantage to 7-0.

Chris Martin closed the book on the A’s in the ninth, walking one and striking out three.

Kansas City lost to Detroit 3-2. The Royals now are 27-68, .284, still a few steps behind the A’s and their 23-71, .245 in the race to the historical bottom.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders split their July 17 double header at Baltimore before a gathering of 1,561 fans and finished the day at 13-63., 1.71.

The 1962 Mets were idle on the 17th and treaded water at 29-64, .312.

The A’s and Red Sox will have another go at each other tomorrow, Tuesday, evening at 6:40. Bryan Bello (7-5, 3.14) will face Oakland’s Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6.66).