The good news? Well, there’s wasn’t much, but David Price went deeper than his fellow starting pitchers have managed for the Boston Red Sox this season, making it through six innings.
The bad news? Price still gave up three home runs, as the long ball continues to plague Boston’s starters.
The worse news? Boston’s offense mustered absolutely nothing Monday night against the Oakland Athletics in a 7-0 loss at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Price wasn’t all terrible. The lefty struck out nine and showed (mostly) good command. Three pitches made the difference in his evening. All in all, Oakland clubbed four home runs and had nine hits. Boston managed just four.
Aaron Brooks got the win for the A’s, allowing just two hits and walk over six innings while striking out six. Price took the loss for Boston.
The Red Sox now are 1-4 after the loss, while Oakland moves to 4-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Boom.
… Goes the dynamite. The long ball once again killed the Red Sox.
ON THE BUMP
— Price gave the Sox their best starting pitching performance of the season, which isn’t saying much. The lefty finished after six innings, allowing five hits and walking two. He allowed four runs, all earned and threw 93 pitches (62 strikes).
Price struck out the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 first inning, needing just ten pitches to get through the frame.
But it was a 1-0 changeup to Khris Davis in the second inning that Price would have liked to get back, as the A’s slugger clobbered it over the fence in left center field to put the hosts up 1-0.
Price bounced back by striking out the side.
The third started the exact same way as the second for Price, who left a first-pitch fastball over the plate which Ramon Laureano smoked well over the center field wall to double the A’s’ lead.
Price allowed a one-out double to Marcus Semien, but was able to retire Matt Chapman and Stephen Piscotty to get out of the inning.
Oakland got runners on in the fourth after a Mark Canha walk and a two-out single off the bat of Jurickson Profar, but Price got Laureano to strike out swinging to escape the jam.
After a 1-2-3 fifth, the A’s added more insurance off Price in the sixth. Canha drew a two-out walk, which brought Chad Pinder to the dish. Pinder lined a first-pitch changeup left up in the zone that managed to sneak over the left field wall to make it 4-0.
Price got Profar to line out to end the frame and close the book on his first start of the season.
— Tyler Thornburg entered in the seventh, setting the A’s down in order with a strikeout.
— Heath Hembree ran into all sorts of trouble in the eighth.
Chapman drilled a 2-0 pitch over the center field fence to make it 5-0, followed by a Piscotty single. Davis was allowed to reach after a Rafael Devers error. Kendrys Morales proceeded to hit a pinch-hit single to center to score Piscotty. Pinder then plated Davis with another single to make it 7-0.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— The Red Sox had momentum out of the gate and appeared primed to take an early lead. But all was for naught.
After going down 1-2-3 in the first, Xander Bogaerts got things going in the second with a one-out double. Mitch Moreland then lined a single to center. Bogaerts was waved home but was gunned down at the plate by Laureano. The play stood after a challenge from manager Alex Cora.
Eduardo Nunez grounded out to end the inning.
— That was it for the Sox offense, as Boston could not figure out Brooks on the mound.
— Boston did not get another baserunner until the fifth when Moreland drew a one-out walk. Nunez then grounded into a double play to end the inning. Brooks’ evening ended with a 1-2-3 frame in the sixth.
— J.D. Martinez got the Sox’s first hit since the second in the seventh with a two-out single. Bogaerts followed with another base knock, but Moreland popped up to end the frame.
— Red Sox hitters struck out 11 times.
— Mookie Betts was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, while Devers was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk.
TWEET OF THE GAME
West Coast, worst coast for the starters
UP NEXT
The Red Sox continue their four-game stand against the A’s on Tuesday. First pitch from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is scheduled for 10:07 p.m. ET.
