Rebounding nicely from a tough loss the day before, the Red Sox got seven shutout innings from Nick Pivetta and edged the Oakland A's, 1-0. giving the Red Sox a win in the weekend series.
The lone run of the game came in the sixth when Alex Verudgo doubled and rode home on a single from J.D. Martinez.
The Sox got a scoreless eighth from Garrett Whitlock and Matt Barnes notched his 19th save of the season.
WHO: Red Sox (52-32) vs. Oakland A's (49-36)
WHEN: 4:07 p.m.
WHERE: Oakland Coliseum
SERIES TO DATE: 1-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: OAK 3-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nick Pivetta (6-3, 4.43) vs. RHP James Kaprielian (4-2, 3.06)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo RF
Martinez DH
Devers 3B
Vazquez C
Gonzalez SS
Santana LF
Dalbec 1b
Chavis 2B
A'S
Kemp 2B
Andrus SS
Olson 1B
Chapman 3B
Lowrie DH
Laureano CF
Brown RF
Pinder LF
Garcia C
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B7: One of the best starts of the season for any Red Sox starter -- seven shutout innings for Pivetta, who allows two hits and two walks to go with 10 strikeouts.
B6: Pivetta has to labor in the bottom of the sixth after a one-out single by Tony Kemp. It takes 23 pitches, but he strands Kemp at first after a foul popup behind the plate by Andrus, then gets Matt Olson to chase a slider in the dirt. That's 10 strikeouts for Pivetta, a season high.
T6: Devers hits a rocket that gets turned into a double play. That takes them out of a big inning, but at least allows Verdugo to cross the plate with the game's first run.
T6: J.D. Martinez extends his on-base streak to 22 straight games with a sharp single to left. Sox have runners at the corners with no out in the sixth.
T6: Verdugo has had the best at-bats against the A's today, as he leads off with an opposite-field double to left.
B4: This is easily the best start Pivetta has had in some time. After a walk and a hit in the first, he's retired 10 in a row, including four strikeouts in that stretch.
T4: Sox haven't been able to get much going against Kaprielian - just two hits through the first four innings with five strikeouts.
T3: Red Sox have runners at second and third with two out, but can't capitalize as J.D. Martinez grounds out to second, stranding two.
B2: Sox can use some length from Pivetta today with the bullpen usage of Saturday night, and he helps out in that regard with an eight-pitch second inning.
B1: Danny Santana throws to the wrong base, allowing the trail runner (Matt Chapman) to move into scoring position.
T1 : Stellar play by Elvis Andrus, who ranges deep into the shortstop hole for a grounder and fires a rocket to first to nab Kike Hernandez.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are tied for the MLB lead in wins and own sole possession of the AL’s best record (52-32, .619). The Sox snapped an eight-game winning streak yesterday, their second-longest of 2021...During the streak, the Sox out-scored their opponents, 55-23 (+22). ,The Red Sox and A’s have played extra innings in each of the first two games this series...The Sox won in 10 innings on Friday, 3-2, and the A’s won in 12 innings yesterday, 7-6. The Sox are 5-3 in extra-innings (4-1 on the road)....: The Red Sox are tied with MIL for the best road record in the majors (both 25-15, .625)...They have lost their last three series at Oakland Coliseum, going 4-9 in games from 2017-21. The Red Sox are 27-17 at home, including 27-14 (.659) since getting swept by Baltimore to begin the season...Their .614 win % at home ranks third in the AL....The Sox lead MLB with 26 outfield assists this season, after leading the majors with 18 in 2020...No other team has as many as 20 outfield assists this season. Sox outfielders rank third in MLB with 20 defensive runs saved (TB-23, MIA-21)...They rank second in the AL and fourth in MLB with a 9.2 ultimate zone rating.....During their last nine games, the Red Sox are batting .299 with an .864 OPS, 15 HR, and 15 doubles... They have scored 61 runs and struck out 61 times. The Red Sox have hit four or more homers an MLB-best 8 times. The Sox lead MLB with 19 three-run homers. The Sox are an MLB-best 46-5 (.902) when scoring four or more runs...Since giving up 18 runs to Toronoto on June 13, the Sox have posted a 3.24 ERA in 18 games .. In their last 10 games, they have a 2.42 ERA ... Sox pitchers have issued only 12 BB in their last six games. The Sox lead the AL with 1.03 HR allowed per 9.0 IP. Sox starters have thrown five or more innings 65 times, third-most in the majors (43-22 in those games)....Red Sox relievers rank third in the AL and eighth in the majors in ERA (3.48)...Their nine active relievers have a combined 2.94 ERA for the Sox....In their last 17 games, Sox relievers have posted a 2.43 ERA...They have stranded their last 17 of their last 18 inherited runners....: Josh Taylor has made 25 consecutive scoreless appearances (20.1 IP), MLB’s longest streak of 2021. Taylor’s streak is the longest by a LHP in Red Sox history, and the longest by a Red Sox reliever since Joe Kelly in 2017....Xander Bogaerts (28 G) and J.D. Martinez (21 G) have the two longest active on-base streaks in MLB. Bogaerts’ streak matches a career-best ..During his current streak, Bogaerts has a .346 AVG and .944 OPS ...The Red Sox have lost four Nick Pivetta's last six starts after winning nine of his 10 starts in April and May. Pivetta Is winless in his last six starts, but allowed three runs or fewer in four of the six and two runs or fewer in three... Of the last 17 runs he's allowed, 15 have scored via home runs..Pivetta has allowed nine homers in 25.2 IP over the span after allowing just four homers over his first 11 starts....Rafael Devers has a five-game hitting streak...Kike Hernandez has four homers in the last seven games...J.D. Martinez has a four-game hitting streak and has knocked in nine runs in that span.
NOTES:
* Xander Bogaerts is out of the lineup, being given the day off, with Marwin Gonzalez getting the start at short in his place. Hunter Renfroe is also out of the starting lineup. "We'll just stay the course, try to keep these guys healthy and fresh,'' said Alex Cora. "We've still got three games on the road and hopefully we'll be fresh and ready to go in Anaheim.''
* Christian Arroyo is flying to LA today, and will have a brief workout in Anaheim Monday, with the expectation that he'll be activated for Monday night's game with the Angels. The expectation is that Michael Chavis will be sent back to Worcester to make room on the roster.
* Cora said he expects to have most of his bullpen available today, including closer Matt Barnes, who had pitched in four of the previous five days. Also, Garrett Whitlock should be able to give the Sox an inning after pitching for two innings Friday night. Cora said he would likely stay away from Adam Ottavino.
* Cora said Matt Andriese, who has allowed 21 earned runs in his last 16 appearances, is not spotting his fastball as effectively as he did back in April. "I don't think he's been able to get to the spots that we're want him to get,'' said Cora. "We're trying to go up and it stays belt-high. His fastball plays up in the zone. Hitters have made adjustments. It seems like his changeup doesn't have the same action as it did earlier in the season. It's staying on the plane and not doing much. We just have to keep grinding with him. Obviously, he's been scuffling for a while. We'll stick with him. He's very important for us. Hopefully, he can find it and get to that role that we had for him early on. He gives us room to maneuver certain lineups. He gives other guys rest.''