The Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong is prepared to put the tag on a diving Oakland A’s runner JJ Bleday in the bottom of the fifth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 19, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–Wednesday was a perfect day for baseball at the Oakland Coliseum. The temperature was 69 degrees at the start of the game. The A’s also had a nice crowd of slightly over 15,000 people. The fans made their presence known as they were making noise all game long. The A’s were coming off a 3-0 shutout over the Red Sox Tuesday night. Could they beat the Sox again?

The answer was yes. A’s skipper Mark Kotsay stacked his lineup with six left-handed hitters to square off against Boston’s best pitcher Brayan Bello. Bello’s record was 7-5 with an ERA of 3.14. The strategy worked as three A’s left-handed hitters each blasted a two-run home run to beat Boston.

The A’s beat the Red Sox 6-5 Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. The A’s, however, almost beat themselves as they committed four errors in Wednesday’s game. Ken Waldichuk and Lucas Erceg made a two-base throwing error trying to pick off a Boston baserunner at first base. Both errors led to two Boston runs.

The Red Sox jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. A’s starter Waldichuk walked the leadoff hitter Rob Refnsyder to start the game. Waldichuk retired Masataka Yoshida on a flyball to center field. Red Sox first baseman, the veteran Justin Turner, sent Waldichuk’s pitch into the left-field seats. The A’s got the two runs back in a flash in their half of the first. Tony Kemp singled to start the rally. JJ Bleday blasted his seventh home run of the year to tie the game at two apiece.

With one out in the bottom of the second, the A’s added took the lead 4-2. Jace Peterson walked. Left-handed hitter Cody Thomas blasted his first Major League home run to put the A’s in the lead. The ball went just over the yellow stripe in right field. Thomas must have felt great after his first MLB dinger.

In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s continued to pound the baseball. Catcher Shea Langeliers led off the frame with a double. Peterson hit the A’s third two-run dinger of the game to make it 6-2. For Peterson, it was his sixth big fly this season.

The Red Sox rallied to put two runs on the board in the top of the fifth. Waldichuk issued a free pass to Sox catcher Connor Wong. Wong went to third when Waldichuk’s pickoff attempt went past first baseman Tyler Soderstrom. Rob Refsnyder singled to drive in Wong. Yoshida doubled, sending Refsnyder to third. Turner’s groundout drove in Refsnyder with Boston’s fourth run of the game. The Sox trailed 6-4 midway through the fifth.

The Red Sox added a run in the top of the sixth. The A’s made two errors in the inning to help the Sox put the run on the board. Adam Duval singled to start the inning. A’s reliever Lucas Erceg’s pickoff throw went into right field. Duvall motored to third base. Duvall scored on Petrerson’s throwing error. The A’s still lead 6-5

The A’s bullpen did the job. The Red Sox failed to score in the game’s last three innings. The A’s win 6-5

Game Notes- The A’s beat the Red Sox for the second game in a row. The A’s are now 27-71. The Red Sox dropped to 51-46. With the trade deadline on August 1st, many people speculate that the Red Sox will be buyers and the A’s sellers.

The line score for Oakland was six runs, ten hits, and four errors. Three of the hits were home runs. Tony Kemp had two hits, Bleday had a home run and a double, and Jordan Diaz had two singles. Waldichuk’s line was four and 1/3rd innings of work. Waldichuk allowed five hits and four runs. Reliever Angel Felipe received credit for the win. Trevor May recorded a save.

Brayan Bello was the losing pitcher. Justin Turner blasted his 15th of the year for Boston. Boston’s line was five runs, six hits, and no errors.

The A’s welcome the Houston Astros to the Coliseum for four games starting Thursday night. Lefty Hogan Harris (2-3, 6.51) will go for Oakland. Righty J.P. France(4-3, 3.31) is Astros’ manager Dusty Baker’s choice to pitch.
The game will start at 6:37 pm.

Concluding Wednesday’s game the A’s dealt reliever Shintaro Fujinami to the Baltimore Orioles for left hand pitcher Easton Lucas. Fujinami was under a one year deal with Oakland worth $3.25 million in a contract that was signed in January.

Fujinami compiled a 5-8 record with an ERA of 8.57, he appeared 34 times for the A’s and started seven games.