It was another frustrating night for the Boston Red Sox, who dropped their fourth consecutive loss Tuesday.
The defeat didn’t come without a positive takeaway for the Red Sox, as Chris Sale put together a bounce-back outing. After allowing seven earned runs in three innings against the Seattle Mariners last week, the lefty gave up just one run in his second start of the season.
Despite the loss, the Red Sox pitching staff appeared to be regaining its footing. Brandon Workman and Ryan Braiser each had solid outings of their own, combining for three strikeouts and one walk in their two innings of work.
But the biggest story of the night was how quiet the Red Sox were on offense once again. The team left seven men on base (six of them in scoring position) and struck out nine times as a whole.
The Red Sox dropped to 1-5 with the loss, while the A’s improved to 5-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Aggravation.
No matter how much they tried, the Sox simply could not get on the board.
ON THE BUMP
— Sale was looking for redemption Tuesday after a miserable Opening Day start, and he got it. The lefty pitched six solid innings, allowing one earned run off of three hits in his second start of the season.
Sale struck out Jurickson Profar and walked two in the seventh before being pulled. The southpaw did give up one home run in the first inning, but remained lights out from there.
Sale’s velocity was not quite there, but the adjustments certainly were. Still, his record dropped to 0-2 with the loss.
This was the first time in 169 career starts that Sale allowed one or fewer strikeouts after pitching 6 innings or more.
— Workman entered in the seventh inning in relief for Sale. The righty struck out two in his inning of work and did not allow a single hit.
— Braiser took the mound in the eighth, striking out one and allowing one walk before closing out the inning with a double play.
IN THE BATTERS BOX
— The Red Sox’s offense continued to provide minimal support for their pitching staff, failing to score on seven hits.
— There were glimmers of hope here and there for the Sox, although they were unable to capitalize on any of them.
With one out in the top of the ninth, Xander Bogaerts crushed a double into left field and attempted to reach third. For the second night in a row, however, Bogaerts was called out on a close play thanks to a stellar throw by A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano.
The A’s then chose to intentionally walk Mitch Moreland, leaving Brock Holt to save the game, though the veteran utility man struck out to end the game.
— Holt had another chance to knock in a run in the third inning, with Rafael Devers just 90 feet away at third base. But that opportunity was squandered as well, with Holt grounding out to first to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had the chance in the seventh inning to drive a run home after Christian Vazquez hit a double off of reliever Ryan Butcher. Bradley squandered the chance by striking out.
— Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez both went 1-for-4, combining for two strikeouts and two hits on the evening.
— Mookie Betts (double) joined Bogaerts and Vazquez as the lone Red Sox to record an extra-base hit.
— Andrew Benintendi, Devers and Moreland all recorded base knocks.
— Holt and Bradley went hitless.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Tom Caron pretty much summed it up for us.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will play the third of their four-game series against the A’s on Wednesday. First pitch from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is scheduled for 10:07 p.m. ET.
