Final, Red Sox 7-6: Koji Uehara couldn’t close things out in his first inning of work. But after some 10th-inning heroics from David Ortiz, the Red Sox closer came back to secure the win.
The A’s rallied from five runs down to tie the game with two outs in the ninth inning. Stephen Vogt and John Jaso did the unthinkable and drilled two home runs off Uehara.
Ortiz wasn’t to be denied, though. Big Papi, who was the only hitter in the Red Sox’s starting lineup without a hit through the first nine innings, went deep in the 10th inning to propel Boston to victory.
The Red Sox certainly needed that win, as the A’s took the first three games of the four-game set. The Sox now travel to Seattle, where they will begin a three-game series with the Mariners on Tuesday.
Mid 10th, Red Sox 7-6: David Ortiz was the only player in the Red Sox’s starting lineup without a hit. Until the 10th inning.
Ortiz broke through in a big way, sending a 1-2 pitch sailing over the wall in left-center field for his 17th home run of the season.
Ortiz once again showed he steps up when it matters most, and the Red Sox will carry a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 10th.
Koji Uehara, who surrendered two home runs in the ninth inning, will come back out and try again to nail this one down.
A’s catcher Derek Norris left the game in the 10th inning after taking a foul ball off the mask.
End 9th, 6-6: The A’s did the unthinkable.
Stephen Vogt and John Jaso hit home runs off Koji Uehara in the bottom of the ninth inning. The A’s have rallied from five runs down with two outs in the eighth inning to force extra innings.
Vogt hit his second homer of the season with one out after Uehara retired Alberto Callaspo to begin the inning.
Jaso pinch-hit for Craig Gentry with two outs and sent Uehara’s first pitch of the at-bat over the right field wall. The homer was Jaso’s seventh of the season.
David Ortiz, Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes are due up for Boston in the 10th inning.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 6-4: Koji Uehara will enter with Boston clinging to a two-run lead.
The Red Sox couldn’t add to their total in the ninth, although Xander Bogaerts broke up his 0-for-16 stretch with a line-drive single into left field.
David Ortiz is the only player in the Red Sox’s starting lineup without a hit.
Uehara is scheduled to face the bottom third of the A’s order — Alberto Callaspo, Stephen Vogt and Nick Punto — in the bottom of the ninth inning.
End 8th, Red Sox 6-4: Here come the A’s.
Oakland struck for three runs with two outs in the eighth inning to cut Boston’s lead to two. Two of the runs were charged to Jon Lester, while the other was charged to Burke Badenhop.
Lester got two quick outs in the eighth before hitting Craig Gentry with an 0-2 pitch and walking Jed Lowrie. Red Sox manager John Farrell turned to his bullpen, calling upon Badenhop, who has been one of Boston’s most reliable pitchers all season.
Badenhop surrendered three straight RBI singles to Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Donaldson and Derek Norris. Norris’ RBI single ended Badenhop’s 18-inning scoreless streak.
Badenhop had gone 32 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run before Sunday’s appearance. That marked the third-longest streak in Red Sox history behind Koji Uehara (33 2/3 innings in 2013) and Dick Radatz (33 innings in 1963).
Andrew Miller came in to close off the inning with a two-run lead intact. Coco Crisp, who has been the hero two straight games, pinch-hit for Brandon Moss and lined out to Jonathan Herrera at short.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 6-1: The Red Sox did some damage with two outs in the eighth inning.
Ryan Cook took over for the A’s after two scoreless innings from Jim Johnson. Cook recorded two quick outs but ran into trouble when Jonny Gomes singled into center field.
Jonathan Herrera, who hooked a deep drive foul from the right side of the plate during an earlier at-bat, made noise from the left side in the eighth. He hooked a ball into the right field corner and hustled his way to an RBI triple.
End 7th, Red Sox 5-1: Jon Lester benefited from another double play in the seventh inning.
Lester walked Derek Norris to kick off the seventh. He retired Brandon Moss on a fly ball to center field, and then got Alberto Callaspo to bounce into a 6-4-3, inning-ending double play.
Lester has been cruising since Oakland scored its lone run in the second inning. His pitch is at 98, so it’s likely he has one more inning in him.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 5-1: Jim Johnson has tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Tommy Milone.
Johnson made quick work of the Red Sox in the seventh. The top of the Red Sox’s order — Brock Holt, Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia — produced three straight flyouts.
Jon Lester will come back out for a seventh inning of work in the midst of a good rhythm.
End 6th, Red Sox 5-1: Jon Lester is rolling right along.
Jed Lowrie, Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson had no answer for the Boston ace in the sixth inning.
Lowrie and Donaldson flied out to center field and right field, respectively. Cespedes popped out.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 5-1: Jim Johnson took over after five lackluster innings from A’s starter Tommy Milone.
David Ross singled into left field off Johnson with one out in the sixth inning, but Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded into a double play.
Milone allowed five earned runs on eight hits over five innings. He surrendered home runs to Ross and Mike Napoli, struck out three, walked one and threw 95 pitches (55 strikes).
End 5th, Red Sox 5-1: Another solid inning for Jon Lester.
Lester cruised through a 1-2-3 frame in the fifth. Stephen Vogt, Nick Punto and Craig Gentry went down in order.
Lester struck out Gentry to end the inning. Gentry swung through a 91 mph fastball.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-1: Mike Napoli crushed the Red Sox’s second home run of the game in the fifth inning.
Napoli smoked a 1-0 changeup over the wall in right-center field to give Boston a 5-1 lead. Napoli and David Ross now have taken A’s starter Tommy Milone deep en route to building the four-run advantage.
It’s encouraging to see Napoli going to right-center field for his eighth homer of the season. The slugger is at his best when he’s going the other way.
End 4th, Red Sox 4-1: Jon Lester worked around a two-out single in the fourth inning.
Lester began the inning by striking out Josh Donaldson. Donaldson chased a 3-2 pitch in the dirt.
Brandon Moss singled after Mike Napoli successfully battled the sun to put away Derek Norris. Alberto Callaspo grounded to short to end the inning.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 4-1: Tommy Milone kept the Red Sox off the scoreboard for the first time in this game in the fourth inning.
Milone retired Jackie Bradley Jr., Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts in order. Bogaerts is now 0 for his last 15.
The sun definitely has caused issues in this game. Just ask Nick Punto, who has been forced to make a couple of circus plays because of the high sky.
End 3rd, Red Sox 4-1: Jon Lester used a double play to cap a scoreless third inning.
Craig Gentry led off with a hot shot to third base. Xander Bogaerts hit the ground while making a play that was half nasty, half self-defense.
Jed Lowrie singled into left field, but Yoenis Cespedes grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 4-1: It’s an offensive explosion for the Red Sox in Oakland. Boston has scored more than three runs for the first time since scoring 10 against the Cleveland Indians on June 13.
The Red Sox’s fourth run of this game came in improbable fashion. It’ll go down in the box score as a double-steal, with Jonathan Herrera stealing second and Mike Napoli swiping home.
Napoli and Jonny Gomes struck back-to-back singles with one out. Jonathan Herrera then grounded into a forceout that left runners at the corners for David Ross.
Tommy Milone had Herrera picked off between first and second base. Napoli, who was stationed at third, took off for home, at which point shortstop Jed Lowrie fired to the plate. Napoli managed to avoid catcher Derek Norris’ tag, score Boston’s fourth run and give us all a pretty awesome official scoring.
Who had Napoli down for stealing home at least once this season?
End 2nd, Red Sox 3-1: The A’s grabbed a run in the second inning. They had another one cut down at the plate.
Derek Norris reached with one out on a throwing error by third baseman Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts had plenty of time to make the play on Norris’ softly hit chopper, but the 21-year-old simply rushed it. Bogaerts’ throw was in the dirt.
Kyle Blanks followed with a single into center field, and Alberto Callaspo put the A’s on the scoreboard with a double off the base of the left field wall. It appeared that Jonny Gomes temporarily lost the ball, as he took a strange route to the warning track.
Stephen Vogt hit a ground ball to short with one out. Blanks immediately took off for home with Jonathan Herrera playing at regular depth. The problem for Oakland was that Blanks looked like he was running in quicksand. Herrera fired home to record the out and save a run.
Nick Punto struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Evidently, Tommy Milone didn’t do his homework.
Milone has gotten beat by Jonny Gomes and David Ross in the first two innings of this game. It’s a continuation of his May 3 start, when Gomes drilled a grand slam and Ross connected on a solo shot against the A’s left-hander.
Gomes gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run single. Ross added to the advantage in the second inning with a solo homer over the wall in left-center field. It actually was Ross’ first home run since taking Milone deep on May 3.
Jackie Bradley Jr. added a single in the second inning before Milone escaped the frame. Xander Bogaerts now is hitless over his last 14 at-bats, though he put a charge into one to left field in the second inning.
End 1st, Red Sox 2-0: Jon Lester made quick work of the A’s in the first inning.
Lester needed just nine pitches to retire Craig Gentry, Jed Lowrie and Yoenis Cespedes in order.
Gentry struck out, Lowrie grounded out and Cespedes flied out.
It didn’t take long for Dustin Pedroia to get dirty, as he hit the ground while making a nice stop on Lowrie’s rocket.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 2-0: The Red Sox have their first lead of the series thanks to Jonny Gomes.
Gomes delivered a two-out, two-run single in the first inning to give Boston an early 2-0 edge. He lined the base hit into center field with the bases loaded after working the count full against A’s starter Tommy Milone.
Brock Holt led off the game with a single into right field. Dustin Pedroia added a one-out knock, and Mike Napoli followed David Ortiz’s strikeout with a five-pitch walk.
Gomes fell behind in the count 1-2 but battled back before shooting a ball in center. Gomes, of course, drilled a grand slam off Milone the last time the left-hander faced the Red Sox.
3:07 p.m.: Tommy Milone tosses a first-pitch strike.
2:48 p.m.: Tommy Milone — like the A’s pitching staff as a whole — has had a nice season. He’s won his last five decisions after starting the year 0-3.
Milone’s last loss, however, came against the Red Sox on May 3. Milone allowed six earned runs on six hits over four innings in that contest. He surrendered a first-inning grand slam to Jonny Gomes.
2 p.m.: Xander Bogaerts will return to the starting lineup Sunday after sitting out Saturday’s game.
Bogaerts is in the midst of a major slump, hitting .093 (4-for-43) over his last 12 games. That includes an 0-for-12 stretch over his last three games, dropping his season average to .265 and his on-base percentage to .350.
Stephen Drew will be out of the lineup Sunday against left-hander Tommy Milone. Drew continues to struggle since returning to the Red Sox. He’s now hitting .158 (6-for-38) and is 0-for-14 over his last four games. Jonathan Herrera will play shortstop.
David Ross gets the call behind the dish with Jon Lester on the hill. It also marks a chance for the struggling A.J. Pierzynski to get a breather. Pierzynski, who has hit several balls to the warning track of late, is hitting .167 with a .207 on-base percentage in June.
Sunday’s complete lineups are below. (Still no sign of Mookie Betts, in case you were wondering.)
Boston Red Sox (34-41)
Brock Holt, RF
Xander Bogaerts, 3B
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Jonny Gomes, LF
Jonathan Herrera, SS
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jon Lester, LHP (8-7, 3.20 ERA)
Oakland Athletics (47-28)
Craig Gentry, CF
Jed Lowrie, SS
Yoenis Cespedes, DH
Josh Donaldson, 3B
Derek Norris, C
Kyle Blanks, 1B
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Stephen Vogt, RF
Nick Punto, 2B
Tommy Milone, LHP (5-3, 3.56 ERA)
1:45 p.m. ET: The Boston Red Sox enter their series finale against the Oakland Athletics in a world of trouble.
The Red Sox have dropped three straight to the A’s at O.co Coliseum, putting Boston seven games below .500 at 34-41. The Sox’s offense has scored three runs or fewer in eight straight games, during which the club has hit .087 (4-for-46) with runners in scoring position. It’s amazing that Boston actually has mustered up three wins in its last eight contests.
The Red Sox will turn to their ace on Sunday. Jon Lester will attempt to play the role of stopper while facing fellow left-hander Tommy Milone. Lester won his last start Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins, allowing one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Pitching hasn’t been the issue for Boston, though. The team needs to start swinging the bats better or else this season could slip away. The Red Sox have seven games remaining on their current 10-game road trip, which could mark a make-or-break stretch for the defending World Series champions.
Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
