The pitching was better. The hitting was not.
For the second straight night, the Red Sox were shutout by the Oakland A's, dropping a 1-0 decision for their fourth straight loss. The 2018 Red Sox went the entire season without ever losing four in a row.
The only run of the game came in the first inning when Matt Chapman homered off Chris Sale. It was the 16th homer of the season allowed by Red Sox pitching.
But the A's collected only two more hits the rest of the way. Sale went six innings and though his fastball velocity was down to 88-90 mph much of the night, was still effective. He struck out only one.
In both the sixth and seventh, the Red Sox had a baserunner on third with two out, but couldn't break through.
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
12:11 Sale done for the night, with one run allowed over six innings. He walked two and struck out just one. Wonder when the last time Sale struck out just one hitter in a start?
11:36 Tremendous play by Rafael Devers at third, who ranges to his left to pick a hard shot by Marcus Semien. Then, he got to one knee and made a strong throw on one hop to nab Semien at first. Nice pick by Moreland at first, too. It's hard to believe that Devers would have made that play last year.
11:28 The Red Sox haven't scored a run in this series, shut out over the last 14 innings.
11:18 If you're looking for positives -- and there aren't a lot -- the Sox have as many hits through four innings as they had all of last night.
11:03 Clearly, Sale is taking a different approach tonight, relying more on his secondary pitches to get through the Oakland lineup. Whether it's interntional or not, fastball velo just isn't there. Hasn't topped 90 mph today
10:24 After 16 homers in just over five games, maybe it's time for Red Sox pitchers to make hitters feels a little uncomfortable? That doesn't mean throwing at anyone; wouldn't advocate that. But there's nothing wrong with moving hitters off the plate.
10:18 Another game, another homer. Matt Chapman tomahawks a fastball at the top of the zone and lines it over the fence in left. That's four homers in less than four innings allowed by Chris Sale and 16 by the team in just over five games.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Oakland A's
WHEN: 10:07 p.m.
WHERE: Oakland Coliseum
STARTING PITCHING: LHP Chris Sale (0-1, 21.00) vs. RHP Mike Fiers (1-1, 5.00).
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Moreland 1B
Holt 2B
Vazquez C
Bradley CF
A's
Semien SS
Chapman 3B
Piscotty RF
Davis DH
Canha 1B
Pinder LF
Profar 2B
Laureano CF
Phegley C
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox continue their road trip and their series in the Bay Area tonight with the second game in a four-game set with the Athletics...Oakland won the opener Monday night, 7-0, the Red Sox' fourth loss in the last five games...The Sox already have a three-game losing streak, matching the longest one of last season just five games into this one...Despite being shutout Monday, the Sox are among the league leaders in team offense, ranking third in hits (41), extra-base hits (15) and total bases (68) while being tied for second in doubles (nine) and tied for fourth in homers (six)...Of course, it's the pitching that has caused the most problems, with an AL-worst 15 homers allowed through five games...J.D. Martinez has hit safely in each of the five games this season and leads the team in virtually every offensive category -- hits, homers, RBI, average, OBP, slugging percentage and OPS...The Sox turn tonight to Chris Sale, who was shelled on Opening Day in Seattle, allowing seven runs on six hits in just three innings...Sale has made 10 career starts against the A's and has a 2.44 ERA and 0.89 WHIP while limiting Oakland hitters to a .190 batting average...Among A's regulars, shortstop Marcus Semien (4-for-12 with two homers and three RBI) and DH Kendrys Morales (11-for-38, three homers, seven RBI) have had the most success against him. Then, there's Khris Davis (2-for-15) and Chad Pinder (0-for-9), both of whom have struggled...As for Oakland starter Mike Fiers, Martinez has always done well, going 7-for-14 with two homers and two RBI against him. Eduardo Nunez (4-for-8) has also hit him well...At the other extreme, Xander Bogaerts is hitless in seven at-bats and Jackie Bradley Jr. is just 2-for-10.
PRE-GAME NOTES
- In an interview with MLB Network Radio Tuesday afternoon, Alex Cora said that Mookie Betts would remain in the leadoff spot for the time being. Betts hit leadoff Sumday when Andrew Benintendi sat out a game after fouling a ball off his right kneecap the night before, but it seemed that was temporary and more related to Benintendi's one-game absence. But then Monday night in Oakland, Betts hit leadoff again. Cora explained Tuesday that he would keep him there, at least until Steve Pearce and/or Dustin Pedroia rejoin the team.