A's - 000 004 100 - 5 15 2 Red Sox - 305 030 20x - 13 16 1It was yet another night of batting practice against the Oakland A's pitching staff.
Travis Shaw, Chris Young, and Hanley Ramirez each had three hits and each reached base four times. Shaw drove in five runs, and Ramirez launched a home run estimated at 468 feet (the second-longest dong in MLB this year).
In the first two games of this series, Boston (20-13) has scored 27 runs on 31 hits.
The Red Sox got on the board when Mookie Betts homered to lead off the bottom of the first inning. One out later, Xander Bogaerts reached on an infield single and Ramirez crushed a pitch into the second light tower above the Monster Seats.
Boston went in order in the second, but attacked Sean Manaea (2.2-10-8-0-1, 41) in the third, as six of the first seven hitters reached safely. Betts singled to left, Dustin Pedroia doubled to right-center (4-0), Bogaerts singled to center (5-0), Ramirez blooped a single to right, Young smoked a single off the Wall (6-0), Josh Rutledge lined out to center, and Shaw doubled down the right field line (8-0). Shaw was thrown out trying to advance to third, and Manaea was pulled, after facing 16 batters and recording only eight outs.
The Red Sox tacked on three runs in the fifth when Ramirez singled, Rutledge walked, and Shaw hit an opposite-field home run. Jackie Bradley, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the fifth, drove in a run in the seventh; a second run scored on an error. Boston loaded the bases with two down in the eighth, but Ryan Hanigan, the only starter to not get a hit, flied to right.
Red Sox starter Sean O'Sullivan (6-12-4-0-3, 91) allowed baserunners in every inning but kept Oakland off the board until he wilted in the sixth, when the A's sent eight batters to the plate.
Betts, RFIt's the Battle of the Seans!
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, DH
Young, LF
Rutledge, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Hanigan, C
Bradley, CF
O'Sullivan was called up to replace Henry Owens in the rotation. In 13 starts for the Phillies last season, O'Sullivan posted a 6.08 ERA. His family will be at Fenway: "My dad always said if I ever got a chance to start here, this is the one place for sure he would come."
Manaea, a rookie left-hander, has thrown 10 big league innings and is making the third start of his career.
Pablo Sandoval was in the clubhouse last night:
People say that I was faking. People in the media were saying I was faking. I don't fake at all. ... I got the surgery. Now I'm going to focus on my rehab and get healthy for next year.Manager John Farrell said Eduardo Rodriguez will make a fourth rehab start for Pawtucket on Friday. Farrell said Rodriguez continues to make "steady progress" and build arm strength.
Fangraphs:
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At Pawtucket this spring, O'Sullivan has made five appearances (all starts), tossed 33 innings, and posted a 2-2 record with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 0.879. He's struck out 33 and walked only five.
ReplyDeleteHis last start on 01 May was a no decision: 7.0-5-2-2-1-5, 108 pitches.
He appeared for Boston on Saturday afternoon against New York, tossed one inning, and gave up a run on two hits while striking out one batter.
Boston is his fifth team in seven big league seasons since 2009 (his entire 2012 season was spent in the minors).