OAKLAND -- When the Oakland A's raced out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning Friday night, the Red Sox' winning streak looked very much in jeopardy.
But the Sox rebounded to put up seven unanswered runs and stunned the A's with a 7-3 triumph, the eighth straight win for the Red Sox and 17th in their last 18 games.
The big blow for the Sox was a grand slam from Mitch Moreland in the sixth inning. Moreland went deep on the very first pitch he saw from A's reliever Emilio Pagan. Jackie Bradley Jr's three-run homer in the second off Oakland starter Kendall Graveman helped wipe out the 3-0 deficit.
Drew Pomeranz, in his 2018 debut, stumbled through the first, allowing three runs and needing 45 pitches to record the first three outs. But the Sox got 5.1 innings of scoreless relief from their bullpen to keep the streak going.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Oakland A's
WHEN: 10:05 p.m.
WHERE: Oakland Coliseum
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won seven in a row and 16 of their last 17, streaking to both the best record in the game and the best start in franchise history. They've won all six of their series to date, including four by sweep. Red Sox starting pitching has been superb, with a 12-1 mark and a 1.98 ERA. The A's are just below .500 (9-10), but have won their last four in a row.
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Drew Pomeranz (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Kendall Graveman (0-3, 9.87).
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
12:46 Eduardo Nunez continues to struggle at second. The Red Sox had him perfectly stationed in shallow right for Matt Olson, who lined the ball directly at him. It should have been the final out of the inning, but Nunez started to drop down to try to catch the liner and couldn't handle it cleanly, as the ball dropped out of his glove and Olson reached, loading the bases.
12:18 I know that grand slams are sort of random, but this is ridiculous: zero in 162 games last year, and now, incredibly, five in the last 12 games.
12:03 This game has been one of all-or-nothing for the Red Sox' lineup. In the second, they bunched together three hits -- two singles and a three-run homer -- to pull even. Immediately following, 11 Red Sox hitters were retired in succession. And now, here in the sixth, they've gotten three straight hits again to fill the bases and chase Gravemen. Big opportunity for Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers now, with the bases loaded and no out.
11:43: Final line on Pomeranz: 3.2 IP; 5 H; 3 ER; 2 BB; 2 WP. 88/58. If you could separate the first inning from the outing, there were things to like and he finished strong, retiring nine of the last 12 he faced, five by strikeout. But, of course, it's hard to write off a 45-pitch inning in which you fall behind 3-0.
11:22 Now that Pomeranz is pitching ahead, he looks like a different guy. He struck out the side in the third on just 12 pitches and has fanned four in a row.
10:51 For the first four pitches of the at-bat against Jackie Bradley Jr., Graveman kept everything at the very bottom of the zone. But when he left a cutter up in the middle of the plate, Bradley drove it into the seats in right for a three-run HR.
10:44 The bottom of the first is finally, mercifully over. Pomeranz needed an astounding 45 pitches to get through the first, with a walk, three singles, two pitches and three runs allowed. Obviously, the Sox are going to be into their bullpen in a big way tonight. Hector Velazquez was up in the bottom of the first.
10:35 Mark Canha works the count full and deep, then gets a hanging curveball from Pomeranz and slices it to right, scoring another run.
10:28 Pomeranz having difficulty establishing a rhythm in the first inning. He's thrown a ton pf pitches (34) already and is working at his usual glacial pace with runners on base.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez DH
Moreland 1B
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C
Holt SS
A's
Semien SS
Piscotty LF
Lowrie 2B
Davis DH
Chapman 3B
Olson 1B
Canha CF
Pinder RF
Lucroy C
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Despite a torrid series in Anaheim, J.D. Martinez (8-for-12, 5 RBI) got the night off Friday. Ordinarily, Alex Cora likes to map out such off-days several days in advance, but he acknowledged that this one was determined late in Thursday's game against the Angels. "I had a conversation with him in the eighth inning,'' recounted Cora. "He actually said, '(Friday) is a good day (to have off).' I was like, 'OK, cool.' I lived through it last year with Jose Altuve. For him, it was hard to accept the off-days, but with time, he understood that there's a lot of effort when you go 3-for-5, 3-for-5, 3-for-5. If he does that five days in a row, he's on base 15 times and he's running the bases. It takes a lot of effort and he understood that when you're hot, you're going to still be hot in two days. You're not going to lose it in two days. I think physically it takes a toll and this is a good day for him (to sit).''
- Cora is encouraged by the last two outings from Carson Smith, who is off to a slow start. "There was a slider he threw to (Mike) Trout,'' said Cora, "and (Trout) buckled. That was the slider we saw in spring training. He's gaining confidence and throwing the ball better.'' Cora said Smith isn't happy with his control (six walks in 6.1 innings). "He doesn't feel it's there yet,'' Cora said. "But you can see it (coming) - the action of the pitches is getting better. You can see it. The slider is getting a lot better and that's a weapon.''
- Steven Wright made a rehab start for Pawtucket against Gwinett Friday night and had it cut short because of a stiff back. Wright threw 2.2 innings while allowing two earned runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out three, throwing 61 pitches, 38 for strikes.