BOSTON — Clay Buchholz did not bring his A-game Monday night, but the Red Sox’s bats bailed him out in a big way, setting a new season high for runs as Boston routed the Oakland A’s 14-7 in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park.
GAME IN A WORD
Potent.
With Buchholz surrendering four runs on six hits over just five innings of work, Boston got the production it needed from its offense. The Red Sox abused the A’s pitching staff as they racked up 15 hits, including six doubles and two home runs.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Brock Holt launched a two-run home run into the A’s bullpen to put the Red Sox ahead 9-4 in the fifth inning, and Jackie Bradley Jr. followed with his first career grand slam one inning later to stretch that advantage to 13-4.
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Bradley, who owns the longest active hitting streak in the majors at 15 games, provided the hardest offensive punch for the Sox, going 3-for-4, driving in six runs and scoring twice. His slam gave him three home runs in his last five games.
ON THE BUMP
— It did not take the A’s long to get to Buchholz. Former Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp led off the game with a walk, then scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by Josh Reddick, another ex-Sox outfielder.
Buchholz stranded a runner on third in the opening frame, but Oakland struck again in the second, using an infield single, a wall-ball double and another run-scoring groundout to stretch its lead to 2-0.
A Crisp single later in the second drove in a third Oakland run, and a solo homer off the bat of Khris Davis one inning later scored a fourth, prompting the Fenway Faithful to rain boos down on their scuffling starter.
That pitch from Buchholz on the Khris Davis homer couldn't have been more down the middle. pic.twitter.com/CPyq9yR4gl
— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) May 10, 2016
Buchholz worked around a leadoff double in the fourth inning and a one-out walk in the fifth to keep the A’s off the board in his final two innings of work.
— Tommy Layne worked a perfect sixth inning, striking out two.
— Carson Smith surrendered one unearned run in the seventh inning after Bradley dropped an easy fly ball in center field — an uncharacteristic play for an outfielder who typically plays Gold Glove-caliber defense.
Smith walked a batter in his one inning of work but did not allow a hit.
— Heath Hembree pitched the eighth and ninth innings for Boston, allowing five hits and Oakland’s final two runs.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Shaw was an offensive dynamo for the Red Sox, hitting safely and scoring in each of his first three plate appearances. He doubled twice after hitting just one two-bagger in his previous 16 games.
— While Shaw got things started in the second, the Red Sox’s offense didn’t truly come to life until the fourth, when the home team plated six runs to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 7-4 lead.
Eleven Boston batters reached base in what was a forgettable frame for Gray, who was yanked before he could record the final out.
— Ortiz continues to bash the baseball in his major league swan song. The designated hitter doubled twice in the fourth inning alone, then roped a rocket of a line drive in his next at-bat that Crisp managed to track down in deep center field.
Ortiz wrapped up his night with an infield single when A’s catcher Josh Phegley was unable to handle his sky-high popup in the seventh inning. Josh Rutledge came in to score on the play, giving Ortiz his second consecutive two-RBI game.
— Xander Bogaerts hit safely for the 16th time in his last 18 games, going 2-for 4 with a double to improve his batting average to .382 in the month of May. He also walked once and scored one run.
— Red Sox manager John Farrell chose to give Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez the final three innings off after Bradley’s slam all but sealed things in the sixth. Pedroia went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Ramirez went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored twice.
TWEET OF THE GAME
UP NEXT
Right-hander Sean O’Sullivan is scheduled to make his debut as a Red Sox starter Tuesday night opposite A’s lefty Sean Manaea.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
