Oakland A’s left-hander Sonny Gray twirled one of his best outings of the season Wednesday — and lost.
The Boston Red Sox managed just one run against the Oakland ace, but it proved to be all they needed to claim a 2-0 victory in the finale of their three-game series at O.co Coliseum.
Starter Wade Miley tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Boston to earn the win and snap a streak of three consecutive losing efforts.
GAME IN A WORD
Precarious.
Miley played with fire all night, putting runners in scoring position in five separate innings, but never got burned. While the Red Sox can’t expect all of their opponents to have as little success with men on base as the A’s did, Miley’s showing nonetheless was encouraging given the left-hander’s ineffectiveness so far this season.
IT WAS OVER WHEN...
Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara teamed up to toss 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
ON THE BUMP
— Miley’s afternoon got off to a less-than-ideal start, as he walked the game’s first two batters on nine total pitches. A Josh Reddick groundout advanced the runners, but Miley managed to escape the early jam by inducing a groundout to third base and a flyout to center.
The A’s put another man in scoring position in the second thanks to another walk and a single, but Miley again left the frame unscathed. That scenario repeated itself yet again in the third (Marcus Semien led off the inning with a triple but could not score) and the fourth (Josh Phegley smacked a one-out double but was stranded on second).
Through those four scoreless frames, Oakland was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
After a relatively quiet fifth inning that included a 5-4-3 double play, Miley allowed the first two men to reach in the sixth before — you guessed it — retiring the final three in order to keep his highly unlikely shutout intact.
Miley set down the first two batters of the seventh, as well, before manager John Farrell decided to call in Tazawa. Miley threw 99 pitches in the ballgame, allowing zero runs on five hits while walking four and striking out one.
— Tazawa retired all four batters he faced before turning the ball over to Uehara for the ninth. The Red Sox closer walked pinch hitter Stephen Vogt with two outs but got Eric Sogard to ground out to first base pick up his seventh save of the season.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— A promising start was a must for the Boston bats after Tuesday’s four-hit effort, and Hanley Ramirez and Daniel Nava helped the Red Sox take the first lead of the game. Ramirez led off the second inning with single, advanced to second on a dropped third strike and came around to score when Nava’s high blooper to left field dropped in front of a charging Coco Crisp.
It wasn’t pretty, but Nava was in no position to complain after going hitless in his previous 20 at-bats.
— That one run was an important one, because the Red Sox couldn’t do much of anything against A’s ace Sonny Gray. The southpaw retired the side in order in five of his seven innings and allowed just four hits — all singles — while striking out nine.
And yet, as he exited after the seventh inning after retiring the final 13 batters he faced, Gray was in line for the loss.
— The Red Sox did add some insurance in the eighth against reliever Evan Scribner. Nava got things going with a leadoff single, and Sandy Leon reached on a hit-by-pitch. It appeared Scribner would leave the inning damage-free when Pedroia grounded to Semien with two outs, but the shortstop’s throw sailed well over the head of first baseman Mark Canha, allowing Nava to jog home from second and put the Sox ahead 2-0.
— Nava, Ramirez and Pedroia each singled twice in the win, with Nava also drawing the only walk allowed by A’s pitching. Betts and Brock Holt, meanwhile, both struggled at the dish, going hitless and striking out three times apicee.
TWEET OF THE GAME
[tweet https://twitter.com/brianmacp/status/598597062540677120 align=’center’]
UP NEXT
The Red Sox continue their spin through the American League West on Thursday, when they open a four-game set against the Mariners in Seattle. Joe Kelly vs. Roenis Elias will be the pitching matchup for the series opener.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
