A’s Lose 10-3 to Red Sox; Boston gets an early jump on A’s in early going

Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox faced off in a middle game Saturday. The A’s looked to stop their three-game losing streak, but they didn’t because they lost 10-3 to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Oakland fell to 25-66, while Boston improved to 47-43.

The A’s starting lineup featured Nick Allen, Jordan Diaz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, Aledmys Díaz, JJ Bleday, Shea Langaliers, Manny Piña, Cody Thomas, and Austin Pruitt. Pruitt entered the game after Paul Blackburn was scratched due to an undisclosed illness but pitched just 1.2 innings and gave up four hits, four earned runs, and one home run. In addition, Pruitt (1-6) took the loss.

The Red Sox took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Justin Turner singled on a line drive to Rooker. Duran scored for a 1-0 lead. Alex Verdugo homered on a fly ball to left field. Turner scored for a 3-0 lead. The umpire reviewed Verdugo’s play for a home run, but the call on the field was upheld.

The Red Sox extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning. Duran homered on a fly ball to left center field. Connor Wong scored for a 5-0 lead.

The A’s finally got on the board in the top of the third inning. Manny Piña homered on a fly ball to left center field to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 5-1.

The Red Sox expanded their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Connor Wong was out on a sacrifice fly to Rooker. Triston Casas scored for a 6-1 lead with one out.

The Red Sox poured in the runs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Rafael Devers doubled on a sharp line drive to Rooker. Masataka Yoshida scored for a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Red Sox added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as Duran hit a ground-rule double on a line drive down the right-field line. Christian Arroyo scored for an 8-1 lead. Yoshida singled on a line drive to Bleday. Duran scored for a 9-1 lead.

The A’s added one home run in the top of the sixth inning. Rooker homered on a fly ball to left-center field to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 9-2.

The Red Sox reached a double-digit lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Christian Arroyo doubled on a line drive to Rooker. Triston Casas scored for a 10-2 lead.

The A’s added one single in the top of the eighth inning. Bleday singled on a ground ball to Casas. Ryan Noda scored to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 10-3 as Aledmys Díaz went to second base.

Notes
A’s left-handed pitcher Sammy Long turned 28 on Saturday.

A’s prospect outfielder Lawrence Butler will bat fifth and start in left field in the 2023 All-Stars Futures Game at 4:00 pm Pacific at T-Mobile Park on Saturday. Meanwhile, A’s prospect catcher Tyler Sodestrom will bat seventh and start at first base.

Up Next
The A’s and Red Sox will wrap up their series on Sunday at 10:35 am Pacific. Starting for Oakland JP Sears (1-6 ERA 4.09) Boston starter TBA.

A’s Lose 7-3 to Red Sox; Sox do most of the damage with 5 run second inning at Fenway

Photo credit: @Athletics

By: Mary Anne

The Oakland Athletics’ last series of their road trip was at the Boston Red Sox. The A’s began a three-game series against the Red Sox on Friday night. The A’s lost 7-3 to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Oakland fell to 25-65, while Boston improved to 46-43.

The A’s starting lineup featured Tony Kemp, Jordan Diaz, Ryan Noda, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Jace Peterson, Shea Langaliers, Seth Brown, Tyler Wade, and Sam Long. Long pitched just one inning and gave up three hits, three earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts.

After a scoreless first inning, Boston opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. Yu Chang singled on a ground ball to JJ Bleday. Alex Verdugo and Enrique Hernandez scored for a 2-0 lead as Triston Casas went to second base. Jarren Duran singled on a ground ball to Tony Kemp.

Casas scored for a 3-0 lead as Chang went to third base. Justin Turner singled on a line drive to Seth Brown. Chang scored for a 4-0 lead as Duran went to third base. Rafael Devers grounded into a forceout fielded by Tyler Wade. Duran scored for a 5-0 lead as Turner was out at second base, while Devers went to first base with two outs.

The A’s finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Tony Kemp singled on a ground ball to Rafael Devers. Seth Brown scored to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 5-1. Tyler Wade went to third base while Kemp went to second base. Devers committed a throwing error.

The A’s inched closer to the Red Sox in the top of the seventh inning. Seth Brown homered on a fly ball to right center field. Shea Langaliers scored to cut the Red Sox’s lead to 5-3.

The A’s chances of a comeback were short-lived as the Red Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Adam Duvall singled on a ground ball to Tyler Wade. Jarren Duran scored for a 6-3 lead as Rafael Devers went to third base. Alex Verdugo singled on a line drive to Brent Rooker. Devers scored for a 7-3 lead as Duvall went to second base.

Notes
A’s LHP Richard Lovelady turned 27 on July 7.

The A’s recalled RHP Angel Felipe from Triple-A Las Vegas.

The A’s selected OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas.

The A’s placed OF Esteury Ruiz on the ten-day injured list retroactive to July 6.

The A’s optioned and designated RHP Rico Garcia for assignment.

Up Next
The A’s and Red Sox will continue their series on Saturday at 1:10 pm Pacific. Starting for Oakland Paul Blackburn (1-1 ERA 4.50) for Boston James Paxton (4-1 ERA 2.70).

MLB podcast with Matt Harrington: Posey’s slam paces Giants for win over Brew Crew; A’s Fiers pitches to a 5-1 win over Chisox; plus more

photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey hits a grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, July 12, 2019, in Milwaukee

On the MLB podcast with Matt:

#1 A grand time to be had by all San Francisco catcher Buster Posey whose been hitting below .300 or near it all season which is unusual for him hit a grand slam in the 10th inning to help launch the Giants to a 10-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on Friday night.

#2 Oakland A’s pitcher Mik Fiers pitched 7.2 innings of shutout ball against the visiting Chicago White Sox as the A’s held a 5-0 lead and eventually won it 5-1.

#3 Red Sox were back to their old ways again with some home run help from Xander Bogaerts with a three run homer, and solo homers from Rafael Devers and Christian Vazquez as the one hour rain delayed game was worth the wait as the Sox crushed the LA Dodgers 8-1.

#4 The hot Minneosta Twins continue to roll with a 5-3 win over Cleveland Jorge Polanco knocked a two run double in the seventh inning that ended Cleveland’s six game win streak.

#5 The New York Yankees blanked the Toronto Blue Jays 6-0 as pitcher Domingo German pitched six innings of shutout ball and Edwin Encarnacion belted a three run double to contribute to the run total.

Matt Harrington does the MLB podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com