Category: Oakland Athletics

Astros use five pitchers to shutout the A’s 6-0 on Saturday night in Houston

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Graphic: @athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics (6-6) lost their second consecutive game to the Houston Astros on Saturday as they were shutout by a combination of five Houston pitchers. The managed to pick up six hits off the Astros pitching, but only one of those hits was for extra bases.

Oakland went 0-for-5 with RISP and left a total of nine men on base. They struck out seven times and picked up four walks. It was a classic night where strong pitching dominated professional hitting.

Houston Hurlers

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Wade Miley on the mound Photo: @Astros

Wade Miley made the start for the Astros and worked 5.2-innings. Miley gave up no runs on four hits. He struck out four A’s batters and walked two hitters. Miley threw 95 pitches (56 strikes). He was credited with the win, which was his first for the season.

Will Harris, Josh James, Chris Devenski, and Framber Valdez combined to work 3.1-innings of scoreless relief for the Astros. The four relievers gave up just two hits and walked no Oakland hitters. The relief corps combined for three strikeouts.

Houston Offense (4-5)

Free-agent addition Michael Brantley led the Astros attack with the bat by going 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI. Brantley hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning which was his second HR of the season.

Yuli Gurriel had a 3-for-4 day with the bat. He added one RBI to his season total.

George Springer went 2-for-4 in the game versus A’s pitching. Springer hit his third home run of the young season off Aaron Brooks in the fifth inning. The round-tripper was a two-run shot.

The Astros scored six runs off 11 hits while leaving six runners on base.

A’s Pitching

Aaron Brooks really struggled in innings four, five and six. Brooks gave up five runs on nine hits. All five runs were earned. Brooks struck out two and walked out one. He also gave up two home runs.

The A’s used three relief pitchers–Yusmeiro Petit, Liam Hendricks, and Ryan Buchter, combined–to work the final three innings. They gave up no runs off just two hits. The relievers walked one and struck out two Astro hitters.

Brooks was charged with the loss – his first of the season. Brooks record is now 1-1 on the year.

Oakland hitting

Stephen Piscotty was the A’s leader with the bat. He went 2-for-3 at the plate and picked up the only Oakland extra-base hit. Piscotty also reached base via a walk.

Khris Davis, Chad Pinder, Kendrys Morales, and Mark Canha each picked up a base hit off Houston pitching.

Unfortunately for A’s fans, the Oakland hitters were unable to put those hits together to produce runs.

BoMel’s Thoughts

Manager Bob Melvin reaction after the game was that his team ran up against some great pitching and that is sometimes just too much to overcome. In other words, tomorrow is another day.

Up Next

The A’s and Astros will wrap up their three-game series on Sunday with a game that is scheduled to begin at 11:10 AM on Sunday morning. RHP Mike Fiers will make his fourth start of the season. His record is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA.

RHP Brad Peacock will make the start for the Astros. It will be his second start of the season. Peacock is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Astros McHugh throws well against A’s; Oakland’s Montas effort not enough to win

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Photo credit: ESPN

On the A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:

If you look at the job that Oakland A’s starter Frankie Montas did on Friday night he didn’t do all that badly he made it into the fifth inning almost into the sixth inning and he was charged with all three Houston Astros runs in the 3-2 loss. Montas drops his record to 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Which isn’t bad for Montas considering his line on Friday was five innings, seven hits and two earned runs. The offense was shutdown by Astros pitcher Colin McHugh (1-1) 2.45 ERA. McHugh went six innings, three hits, with four strikeouts.

McHugh has a long history of pitching well against the A’s line up and McHugh used to be a starter and a reliever for Houston. So it wasn’t a surprise that the A’s lost the first game of this trip to Houston but by that much one run.

Jerry is a beat writer for the Oakland A’s and does the A’s podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

McHugh Hold’s A’s to 3 Hits, Astros Beat Oakland 3-2

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

Photo credit: @astros

By Matt Harrington

The Oakland A’s fell to the Houston Astros 3-2 on the road Friday in a pitcher’s duel between Frankie Montas and Collin McHugh. Carlos Correa hit his first longball of the season and Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve knocked in runs for the 2017 World Champions. Ramon Laureano knocked in a pair of runs to continue a torrid 2019.

Montas wasn’t particularly sharp, allowing seven hits over hit innings, but he stymied a potent Houston lineup to just the two earned runs. Alex Bregman singled a run home in the bottom of the third for a 1-0 lead, then Correa’s big fly gave Houston a 2-1 lead an inning later after Laureano’s run-scoring single in the top of the frame.

Laureano accounted for two of the three hits off Houston Starter Collin McHugh. McHugh went six, allowing the one run while working around three walks with four punchouts. His pen was particular stellar, going three innings with just the one run allowed by Roberto Osuna in the ninth inning.

The run, a second Laureano RBI single, would cut the gap for the A’s, but Houston took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh after Jose Altuve doubled off JB Wendelken to knock in George Springer.

The Astros send free-agent acquisition Wade Miley to the mound Saturday in his second starting in the year after losing his first appearance. Aaron Brooks makes his second start of the season for the Green and Gold after baffling the current world champ Red Sox to no runs on six innings and two hits.

A’s finish off the Red Sox to win the four-game series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s beat the Boston Red Sox for the third time in four tries, and they finished the homestand with a record of 6-2. The Red Sox, the defending World Champions, are having problems as they are 2-6 for the first eight games of 2019. The Sox finish the 11-game road trip with three games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix before returning home to Boston.

The A’s sent lefty Brett Anderson to the hill to face Red Sox. Anderson went 5 1/3 innings, and allowed three runs and eight hits. Anderson recorded his second win of the young season. Eduardo Rodriguez started for Boston, and his record dropped to 0-2.

Here’s how the A’s did it Thursday afternoon.

The Red Sox put two runs on the board in the top of the first. Mookie Betts led off with a single. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi laid down a sacrifice bunt. A’s first baseman Mark Canha tried to nail Betts at second. Betts was ruled safe, and the A’s challenged the ruler. After a brief review, the call was upheld, and the Sox had men on at first and second with no out. Anderson struck out Steve Pearce for the first out. J.D.Martinez singled to load the bases. Anderson walked Xander Bogaerts to force in a run. Eduardo Nunez fouled out, and Anderson walked Brock Holt to force in another run. The Red Sox had an early 2-0 lead.

The Red Sox added a run in the third when J.D. Martinez hit a solo home run with one out. Anderson Walked Bogaerts for the second time, but he was able to get Eduardo Nunez to hit into an inning-ending double play. The A’s tied the game in their half of the third. A’s catcher Josh Phegley led off with a double. Rodriguez retired Robbie Grossman on a fly to right field. Phegley tagged up and motored to third. Marcus Semien walked, and that was followed by Stephen Piscotty’s second home run of the year.

The A’s sent Rodriguez to the showers in the bottom of the fourth when they plated three more runs to take a 6-3 lead. With one out, Ramon Laureano walked. Phegley followed with a single. Robbie Grossman doubled to drive in Laureano with the A’s fourth run. Rodriguez retired Marcus Semien for the second out of the inning. The next hitter, Stephen Piscotty, who had homered in his previous at-bat, hit a fly ball to deep right-center field. The ball appeared to be catchable, but it seemed as if it was drifting away from the clutches of Jackie Bradley, Jr. Piscotty’s ball landed between Bradley and Betts and then bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Phegley and Grossman scored on the play. The A’s are in the driver’s seat as they led 6-3 after four.

In the bottom of the sixth, The A’s put another run on the board to take a 7-3 lead. With two out, consecutive singles by Semien, Piscotty, and Khris Davis produced the A’s seventh run of the game.

The A’s bullpen of Lou Trivino, Joakim Soria, and Liam Hendriks kept Boston off the board and preserved the win for Oakland 7-3.

Game Notes: The A’s hitting star was Stephen Piscotty. Piscotty was 4-for-4 with two singles, a double, and a three-run homer. He drove in five runs and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

The A’s outfielders threw out two runners on the base paths Thursday. Robbie Grossman picked up an assist when he threw out Steve Pearce trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning. Ramon Laureano threw out Mookie Betts in the ninth when Betts tried to go from first to third on a single by Andrew Benintendi. For Laureano, it was the third time in the series that he nailed a runner trying to take an extra base.

The A’s have a record of 38-16 in the last 54 games played against the Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s line score was seven runs, thirteen hits, and no errors. Boston’s line was three runs, 10 hits, and no errors.

Time of game was three hours and 16 minutes. 15,095 fans were in attendance.

Up Next: The A’s start a 10-game road trip Friday as they play the Houston Astros for three, Baltimore Orioles for four, and finish the trip with three against the Texas Rangers.

The A’s Frankie Montas will pitch Friday night, and he will be opposed by Houston’s Collin McHugh.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Lechler to go into Hall as Raiders punter for 13 seasons; Raiders sign Grant at wide receiver; plus more

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Photo credit: @TDenFamilia

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Shane Lechler can look forward to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after the five year wait . He played in 206 games for the Raiders and missed only two games in 13 seasons. In those 13 seasons, Lechler called Oakland his home. A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the best punters in NFL history.

#2 Wide receiver Ryan Grant has signed with the Oakland Raiders. Grant formerly with the Indianapolis Colts signed with Oakland on Wednesday Grant’s deal is worth one year, $2.5 million.

#3 You can’t win them all the A’s, who won the first two games against the visiting Boston Red Sox on great pitching, and delivered two shutouts, but they dropped game three of the four-game series to the Red Sox. However, the A’s have been delivering excitement each night.

#4 The Giants had some troubles on this road trip, but still, they have gone 2-5 thus far. They have concluded their road series with the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss. They have their home opener on Friday, can they get back on track with some home cooking?

#5 The Sacramento Kings might be making changes again and knowing how much Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divak like Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton. Do you see Walton getting fired by the Lakers as rumored and going to the Kings, which means Kings head coach Dave Joerger will get the boot at season’s end?

Headline Sports with Tony R is heard each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Red Sox snap their four-game losing skid with 6-3 win over the A’s

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Photo credit: @RedSox

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Boston Red Sox snapped two streaks as they beat the Oakland A’s 6-3 in game three of the four-game series. Previously, the Red Sox lost four in a row and had not scored a run in 22 straight innings.

A’s starter Marco Estrada went 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, one of which was unearned, and two hits before exiting the game. A’s starters went six innings in the first six games of the homestand, and that streak was also snapped at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday.

Both bullpens came through as neither team could do anything until the fateful ninth inning. The Red Sox scored three times after two were out in the ninth to earn their second win of the year.

The A’s drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Singles by Kendrys Morales and Jurickson Profar put men on at first and second with no out. Eovaldi walked Marcus Semien to load the bases. Eovaldi struck out Ramon Laureano for the first out. Nick Hundley singled off the glove of Rafael Devers to drive in the A’s first run. It was Hundley’s first RBI of the year. Eovaldi retired Robbie Grossman and Matt Chapman to end the inning. The A’s lead 1-0.

The A’s increased the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Marcus Semien walked to lead off the inning. Ramon Laureano, who is having quite a series against Boston, sent Eovaldi’s 83 MPH curveball over the 400-foot marker in center field for his second home run of the year and his second in the series with the Red Sox.

Boston’s Blake Swihart snapped Boston’s 22 innings of scoreless ball against the A’s when he homered over the wall just to the left of the 388-foot marker in right-center field. The Red Sox trail 3-1 midway through the fifth.

The Red Sox plated two runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Mookie Betts worked Marco Estrada for a leadoff walk. Estrada struck out Andrew Benintendi for the first out of the inning. The next hitter, Rafael Devers, hit a ground ball to second baseman Jurickson Profar who airmailed the ball over Marcus Semien’s head into left field. Betts went to third on the play. Estrade then walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases. A’s manager Bob Melvin removed Estrada and brought in lefty Ryan Buchter to face the left-handed hitter Mitch Moreland. Moreland, who loves to hit against the A’s in Oakland, doubled down the right field line to drive in two, Melvin changed pitchers again and his reliever, J.B. Wendelken, retired the last two hitters to end the inning. The score is 3-3 in the middle of the sixth.

The Red Sox dodged a bullet in the bottom of the eighth. With two out, Marcus Semien singled. With Laureano at-bat, Semien stole second and advanced to third when Blake Swihart’s throw to second went into center field. Laureano hit a ball that Sox shortstop Brock Holt, going to his right, fielded the ball and threw to first. Laureano was ruled safe, but the call was overturned after a 50-second review. The score was still 3-3 after eight.

The Sox scored three runs on four hits. Eduardo Nunez led off the frame with a single. Nunez was caught stealing and A’s reliever Fernando Rodney struck out Brock Holt for the second out. Blake Swihart kept the inning going with a single. Jackie Bradley, Jr. followed with a single sending Swihart to second. Rodney uncorked a wild pitch to move the runners to third and second. The AL MVP Mookie Betts worked the count to 3-2. Melvin had Rodney pitch to Betts. Mookie hit a ground ball that hit third base and bounded away from Matt Chapman. Swihart and Bradley scored, Andrew Benintendi followed with a triple to drive in Betts, and the Red Sox had their first lead of the series 6-3.

Game Notes: Neither pitcher, Nathan Eovaldi nor Marco Estrada, figured in the decision. Eovaldi, who struggled a bit with his control, went five innings and allowed three runs and four hits. Eovaldi hit A’s third baseman Matt Chapman with a pitch in the first inning. The 90 MPH fastball hit Chapman on his left wrist. Chapman shook it off and stayed in the game.

Ramon Laureano hit his second home run of the year with a man aboard in the fourth to give Oakland a 3-0 lead. Boston’s bullpen held the A’s scoreless the rest of the way. Matt Barnes received credit for the win, and the A’s Fernando Rodney took the loss. Ryan Braiser picked up his first save.

The Red Sox line score was six runs, nine hits, and one error. Blake Swihart was the hitting star for Boston with a home run and two singles. The A’s line was three runs, five hits, and one error. Ramon Laureano hit a two-run dinger in the fourth.

The A’s are now 5-4 for the year, and Boston improved to 2-5.

Time of game was three hours and 21 minutes. The attendance was 14,207.

Up Next: Game four will be played Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum. It will be a battle between two left-handed pitchers as Brett Anderson (1-0) will go for Oakland and Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1) will pitch for Boston.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Ice meltdown in Vancouver–Sharks can’t answer Canucks’ 3 goals in third period; Quakes’ best game in 0-0 draw against Colorado so far; plus more

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Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In one that you can call just a big meltdown, the San Jose Sharks started a two-game road trip in Vancouver Tuesday night, had a 2-1 lead and looked like they might actually win this one against the Canucks, but all for not as the Canucks scored three unanswered goals to hand San Jose its ninth loss in 10 games 4-2.

#2 The San Jose Earthquakes are a team that is all shook up. They have not won one a game yet this season and have played six games and their best game was against Colorado in a 0-0 draw. London tells us from he has seen of the Quakes what the problem is?

#3 The San Francisco Giants have shown some improvement on the current road trip taking the first game against the Dodgers on Monday night 4-2, thanks to Brandon Belt’s home run to help pace the win. On Tuesday night, the Giants lost by a run, but it’s been something to look forward to after they struggled in San Diego losing three out four.

#4 The Oakland A’s are getting plenty of pitching they got a 7-0 shutout over the World Champion Red Sox on Monday and then on Tuesday they got a 1-0 shutout with great A’s starting pitcher Mike Fiers and A’s reliever Blake Treinen.

#5 The Sacramento Kings just couldn’t do anything with James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Golden One Center. Harden put away 36 points and he was again a scoring machine in a 130-105 win.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcast for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s shut out the Red Sox again

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s were led by Mike Fiers’ six scoreless innings, limiting the Red Sox to five hits. Fiers earned his second win of the season. The As’s bullpen shut out the Sox the rest of the win and the A’s won by a score of 1-0. Sox ace, Chris Sale, who was roughed up by the Seattle Mariners in his first start last week, made just one mistake. He gave up a solo home run to Matt Chapman, and that was the run the A’s needed to shut down the potent Red Sox offense for the second night in a row. The last time the A’s shutout the Red Sox in back-to-back games was on August 30th and 31st in 1996.

Sale, as Fiers, went six innings he allowed one run and three hits. Sale did not display his blazing fastball. He kept the hitters off-balance with a variety of speeds that ranged from 75 to 92 MPH. Sale, known as a strikeout artist, managed to strike out only one A’s hitter.

The A’s third baseman, with one out, hit his third home run of the year. With the count 3-2, Chapman sent Sale’s 88 MPH fastball over the wall in left field to give Oakland an early 1-0 lead after one inning of action.

That was the whole ballgame. The Sox had chances, but failed to get the clutch hit that would have tied the game. They had a threat going in the fourth when they were able to have men on at first and third with two out. Fiers retired Brock Holt on a ground ball to first baseman Kendrys Morales to end the inning. In the sixth, Boston managed to get a man as far as third, but Fiers again rose to the occasion as he struck out Xander Bogaerts for the third out. In the top of the ninth, with closer Blake Treinen on the hill, Xander Bogaerts lined a shot to right center. The ball hit the 388-foot marker and remained in play. Had the ball been a couple of inches to the left, it would have been a home run. The ball stayed in play. Ramon Laureano, who made two tremendous defensive plays Monday night, performed his magic as he played the ball off the wall and threw a strike that nailed Bogaerts at third for the second out of the inning. Mitch Moreland walked. Treinen regrouped and struck out Brock Holt to record the save.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 5-3 for 2019. Mike Fiers, who had six innings of work, was the sixth game in a row that an A’s starter has gone at least six innings. Mike Fiers is now 2-1, and Chris Sale is 0-2. Treinen recorded his third save. Chapman’s homer was his third of the year. The Red Sox are 1-5.

Up Next: The teams play game three of the four-game series Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm. Marco Estrada (0-1) will go for Oakland, and Nathan Eovaldi (0-0) will pitch for Boston.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast with Barbara Mason: Final Four–Who’s going to win it all?; Stanford eliminated by Norte Dame women; plus more

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Photo credit: @SInow

Barbara Mason is filling in for Amaury Pi Gonzalez:

#1 The Final Four is amongst us and taking a look at each game this coming Sunday. Taking a look at Auburn-Virginia, Auburn has been the surprise — do you see this game being a real contest?

#2 Texas Tech-Michigan State is the next game on Sunday. The Red Raiders gave it their all when they beat Gonzaga last Sunday and the Spartans are one the winningest and high-ranking teams in the Tournament.

#3 The Stanford Women (31-5) and Notre Dame (34-3) battled it out, but after giving it their all all season long, the Cardinal could not withstand and lost to the Fighting Irish 84-68.

#4 The Oakland A’s started the 2019 season with two loses in Tokyo to the Seattle Mariners. Since that trip, it looks like the A’s have shaken off the jet lag and have been on track winning taking three of four from the Angels since coming back to Oakland and a win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night to open another four-game series.

#5 The San Jose Sharks’ troubles continue after they dropped their eighth loss in nine games to the Western Conference first place Calgary Flames on Sunday. The win secures the Flames for first place and what was worse was that it was done on the Sharks’ home ice.

Barbara Mason does That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Homer-happy A’s pound the Red Sox 7-0

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s Aaron Brooks earned his first win of the year as he pitched six innings and allowed the struggling Boston Red Sox just two hits. The A’s bullpen pitched with three scoreless innings and limited the Sox to two hits.

In the last five games, the A’s starters have all pitched six innings, and the A’s have won four out of five. The defending World Champion Red Sox have not had a good start to the season. They have lost four of the five games played and their starting pitching, to be blunt, has not been good. The fans in New England have to wonder what happened to the team that won 119 games last year. They hit well in Seattle, but could not manage four hits in Oakland Monday night. The A’s play the Red Sox exceptionally well at the Oakland Coliseum and Monday’s game was no exception. The A’s took the season series 4-2 last year, including Sean Manaea’s no-hitter last April 19th.

The A’s hitters hit four home runs Monday night. They victimized David Price three times, and Heath Hembree gave up a solo blast to Matt Chapman in the eighth.

The game summary follows below:

The A’s grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Khris Davis blasted David Price’s 82 MPH change up over the left center field wall for his fifth home run of the season. Price then struck out the next three A’s hitters to end the inning.

In the third, Ramon Laureano, who had made two outstanding defensive plays in the second, sent David Price’s 91 MPH four-seam fastball out of the park to give the A’s a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Price retired the first two batters he faced. Price walked Mark Canha, and Chad Pinder sent Price’s first pitch change up out of the park to put the A’s ahead by four runs. The A’s broke it open in the bottom of the eighth. Matt Chapman greeted Red Sox reliever Heath Hembree with his second home run of the season. Stephen Piscotty singled and went to second when Khris Davis reached on a throwing error by Edwin Nunez. Kendrys Morales singled to drive in Piscotty and Davis scored on Pinder’s single to make it 7-0. Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end the game.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 4-3. The Red Sox drop to 1-4. Aaron Brooks was the winning pitcher, and David Price absorbed his first loss of the season.

The A’s homers were hit by Khris Davis (5), Ramon Laureano (1), Chad Pinder (1), and Matt Chapman (2). Davis has five homers in the first seven games of the season. He joins Mark McGwire and Reggie Jackson as the only A’s with at least five home runs in the first five games of the season.

The A’s improved to 36-15 in their last 51 games against the Red Sox in Oakland.

A’s starting pitchers have thrown six innings in each of the last five games and have a 0.30 ERA and have a .115 OBA in that span.

Fernando Rodney pitched a scoreless ninth inning. For Rodney, it marked his 900th appearance in a MLB game. Rodney tied Arthur Rhodes for 25th on the all-time list.

The A’s line for the game was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors. For Boston, it was no runs, four hits, and one error.

Up Next: The A’s and Red Sox will play game two of the four-game series Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time is at 7:05 PM. Mike Fiers (1-1) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Boston’s lefty Chris Sale (0-1)

Time of game was two hours and 42 minutes. 12,417 fans were on hand to watch the game.