All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the A's, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
Sox run out of trustworthy arms: The longer this 12-inning epic ran, the more the Red Sox were going to be a disadvantage. That's because they started the day knowing they would be without both closer Matt Barnes -- who had appeared in four of the previous five games -- and rookie set-up man Garrett Whitlock, who had provided two innings in Friday's win. When starter Garrett Richards left without recording an out in the sixth, the Sox had a long way to go to get to the finish line. It appeared as though they might make it -- twice. Then, they coughed up a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth as both Yacksel Rios and Darwinzon Hernandez proved ineffective. Then, in spite of themselves, the Sox scored two runs in the top of the 12th to pull ahead 6-4 and were three outs away from their second straight extra-inning victory on the road. But Matt Andriese gave up three straight hits in the bottom of the inning, putting the potential go-ahead run at third for Tony Kemp, who drove a flyball to center that was just barely deep enough to score Seth Brown for the game-winner.
Sox make their share of mistakes: The Sox had their opportunities along the way, but were guilty of enough misplays and mistakes to cost themselves the game. From the sixth through the 11th, they basically stopped hitting, with their only two hits a solo homer by Kike Hernandez in the seventh and a one-out single by Xander Bogaerts in the eighth that went to waste. They also ran into two huge outs on the basepaths. In the ninth, Marwin Gonzalez earned a pinch-hit walk, but then got himself thrown out attempting to steal second on what was apparently a muffed sign on the part of Alex Cora. Then, going on his own, Danny Santana inexplicably took off and tried to steal third as the automatic runner in the 10th inning. Finally, even after plating two runs in the top of the 12th and setting themselves up for an improbable win, they stranded two baserunners when they obviously could have used more runs, given what would transpire in the bottom of the inning against Andriese.
TURNING POINT:
For the second straight night, the Red Sox got a tremendous play from an outfielder in the 10th inning to cut down a run at the plate. On Friday night, it was Kike Hernandez; on Saturday, the defensive star was more unlikely -- J.D. Martinez. Getting a rare start in left field, Martinez came in to snag a one-out liner in the bottom of the 10th. With Sean Murphy at third base, it appeared as though the A's were going to win the game. Murphy, though a catcher, runs well (he twice scored from first base earlier in the game), but Martinez put a charge into his throw and sent a strike to Christian Vazquez, who appeared to get the tag on Murphy a hair before he touched the plate for an inning-ending, game-saving -- for a time anyway -- play. Two innings later, it was just a footnote.
TWO UP:
Kike Hernandez: Hernandez had two walks, a homer -- his fourth in seven games -- and, for a time, what looked to be the game-winning RBI with a single in the top of the 13th. Oh, and he very nearly threw out another runner at the plate in the bottom of the 13th, but his on the fly throw arrived a split-second too late.
Brandon Workman: The righty had what was probably his best outing since rejoining the Sox, providing two scoreless innings hitless, scoreless relief in the 10th and 11th.
TWO DOWN
Matt Andriese: Out of any other options, the Red Sox were forced to go to the struggling Andriese in the bottom of the 12th, with predictable results. Andriese has now allowed 21 runs in 23.2 innings.
Danny Santana: In addition to going hitless in five plate appearances, Santana had a shaky day in the outfield and also foolishly attempted to steal third in the 10th inning.
QUOTE OF NOTE
''It was a crazy game. If you guys want, we can go through every play. A crazy game, that's it.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The loss was the first extra-inning defeat on road this season after four wins.
* The Red Sox used a season-high nine pitchers.
* J.D. Martinez extended his on-base streak to 21 games while Xander Bogaerts extended his to 28 games.
* With a scoreless seventh, Josh Taylor posted his 25th straight scoreless appearance, two shy of the team record.
* The loss represented just the second time in 36 games in which the Red Sox scored at least six runs and still lost.
UP NEXT: The Sox and A's close out their series Sunday at 4:07 p.m. with RHP Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.43) vs. RHP James Kaprielian (4-2, 3.06)