All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-3 loss to the Athletics, complete with BSJ analysis and insight.
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Rodriguez frustrates again: How many times have we seen a start like this from the Red Sox' talented lefty? His teammates gifted him with two quick runs in the top of the first before he even took the mound, then in the third added another run to boost his lead to 3-0. All good, right? Not quite. After taking an aggressive approach in the first two innings -- as one should with an early lead -- Rodriguez fell into a familiar pattern starting in the third. He lost that aggressiveness and begin falling behind, needing 31 pitches to get through the inning. He also threw a center-cut fastball right down the middle of the plate to Stephen Piscotty, who hit it out for a three-run homer, erasing the lead he had been given.
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1113908513565097984
It got worse in the fourth. Rodriguez got a quick out then got ahead of Ramon Laureano, the No. 8 hitter, 0-and-2 before losing him and issuing a walk. From there, the inning fell apart on him, with an infield hit, a run-scoring double and a two-run double. After issuing an intentional walk, his day was done. He needed 84 pitches to get just 11 outs, forcing the Sox to go to the bullpen far earlier than they would have liked.
Red Sox squander chances: Boston managed two quick runs in the first inning and then tacked on another in the third against A's lefty Brett Anderson to grab a 3-0 lead. But like their getaway game in Seattle on Sunday --when they also raced out to a 3-0 lead in the early going -- it wasn't enough. The Sox had chances to do more damage. In the first, they had the bases loaded with two out, but Christian Vazquez hit into an inning-ending force play. It was more of the same in the fourth when, after two were out, an intentional walk to Mookie Betts and an infield hit by Andrew Benintendi loaded the bases again. But Anderson fanned Steve Pearce to leave the based loaded again. Those were the worst of the missed opportunities, but not the only ones. They had a one-out baserunner in both the fifth and sixth, and a leadoff man on in the eighth -- and came away with nothing all three times. They left ten men on base for the game and were just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Pearce returns: Steve Pearce, who missed the first seven games of the season with a calf strain, was activated before the game and was in the lineup at first base, giving the Red Sox a much-needed righty bat against lefty pitching. He fanned in his first at-bat with two on and no out, but led off the third by driving the ball on one-hop to the left field wall. Unfortunately for Pearce, he got a little too aggressive as he rounded first and tried to stretch the hit into a double, but was cut down at second on a strong throw from Robbie Grossman. Of course, a belly-flop for a slide, a few feet shy of the second base bag, didn't help things. The final two trips to the plate resulted in strikeouts both times, suggesting that perhaps Pearce might need a little additional time to get his timing at the plate against major league-caliber pitching. Nonetheless, given all the lefties the Sox have faced of late, having someone who can do damage against southpaws will be a welcome addition.
TURNING POINT
The Red Sox had the bases loaded, two out and the heart of the lineup coming up in the top of the fourth, but Anderson fanned Steve Pearce to quell the threat and the Sox stranded three.
TWO UP
J.D. Martinez: Martinez singled to right to fill the bases in the first inning, then produced one of his patented inside-out swing in the third to homer to right, his third of the season. He's hit safely in all eight games so far.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1113900004144500737
Brock Holt: Getting another chance to start, Holt collected a bases-loaded walk to force in a run in the first and then added a soft line single to center in the fourth.
ONE DOWN
Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley delivered a single in four trips, but his inability to communicate with teammate Mookie Betts resulted in the very costly ground-rule double, scoring two for the A's.
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1113912124781162496
Mookie Betts: He takes some blame for the ball that dropped, then made a bad call to run on Laureano in the ninth, only to get cut down at third base.
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1113935849949818880
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- When Hector Velazquez allowed a run in the sixth, it marked the end of a 7.1 inning scoreless streak for the Red Sox bullpen.
- Holt's single in the fourth marked his first hit of the season.
- The game marked the first time that Rodriguez failed to pitch eight innings at the Coliseum.
- Boston pitchers have allowed 18 homers this season; going into yesterday, no other A.L. team had allowed double figures.
- The Sox are now 3-13-1 in their last 17 series in Oakland.