All you need to know about the Red Sox' 7-0 loss to the Athletics, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Starting pitching better, but not by much: In his first start of the season, David Price was at least competitive. He kept the Red Sox in the game through the first five innings, which is more than could be said about his fellow starters in the first series in Seattle. Price allowed two homers in the first three innings, but both were solo shots. He also racked up strikeouts -- two in the first, three in the second and two more in the fourth. His four-seam fastball was touching 94 mph and he was able to bury some pitches inside against righthanders. But just when it seemed like the Sox might get a quality start from someone in their rotation, Price stumbled in his final inning of work. After a two-out walk to Mark Canha, he threw a first-pitch changeup to Chad Pinder, who drove it out to dead center, doubling the A's lead and putting the game effectively out of reach. In five games now, Red Sox starters have yielded 11 homers. Price's stuff was the best any Red Sox starter has flashed to date -- an admittedly low bar to clear -- but the long ball did him in, accounting for all four runs against him.
Red Sox get nothing from the top third of order: Alex Cora had Mookie Betts leading off again Monday, explaining that he wanted to break the left-right balance because of the A's bullpen matchups. But if the move was also designed to get the lineup going, it didn't work. Betts was hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts, and Andrew Benintendi, returning after sitting out a game after fouling a ball off his right kneecap Saturday, wasn't any better, also 0-for-4 with one strikeout. Finally, there No. 3 hitter Rafael Devers who didn't get on base until he worked a two-out walk in the ninth inning against closer Fernando Rodney. Devers struck out three times prior to that. When you're 1-2-3 hitters are a combined 0-for-11 with one walk, it's not likely to be a good night for your team offensively.
Bullpen also suffers an off-night: Coming into the game, Red Sox relievers had allowed just one run in the previous 14 innings. That run got extended when for an inning thanks to Tyler Thornburg's scoreless seventh, but Heath Hembree failed to retire any of the first five hitters to face him in the eighth. He was tagged for a leadoff homer by Matt Chapman, then allowed three base hits sandwiched around an infield error, resulting in three more runs by the A's. Given the fact that the Sox had so little going offensively, the 4-0 deficit Hembree inherited was unlikely to be overcome, but allowing three more didn't help the team's confidence, either.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox briefly hinted at some offensive life in the seventh, trailing 4-0. With two outs, they got consecutive singles from J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts, which brought Mitch Moreland to the plate. Moreland has 15 career homers at Oakland Coliseum and another one of his three-run specialties might have been just what the Sox needed to get back into this one. Instead, Moreland popped out meekly to second, ending the threat and the inning, stranding two.
TWO UP
Tyler Thornburg: Thornburg, whom the Red Sox are trying to get right, had his best outing of the entire spring, retiring the A's in order while notching a strikeout. This time, there were no two-out walks or hard-hit balls to extend the inning. Thornburg looked sharp and confident.
Xander Bogaerts: It's always a good day when you formalize a six-year, $120-million contract extension, but then Bogaerts made it even better with a second-inning double to right-center and later added a sharp single to center for a two-hit night.
ONE DOWN
Rafael Devers: In addition to going hitless and striking out three times in the No. 3 hole, Devers committed his third error in four starts. He made an outstanding play on an in-between hop, then gave himself time to set his throw across the diamond, but still yanked it, pulling Moreland high off the bag at first.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Sox have four losses by April 1. Last season, they didn't lose their fourth game until April 22, in their 21st game.
- Boston's pitchers have allowed 41 runs in 41 innings.
- The Sox have lost 36 of their last 51 games in Oakland.