The Boston Red Sox defeated the Oakland Athletics 8-0 on Saturday afternoon at RingCentral Coliseum.
The Red Sox move closer to .500 improving to 26-27, and the A's dropped to 20-35.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
It was smooth sailing for the Red Sox on Saturday. Boston got on the board early in the third inning and kept firing in runs throughout the afternoon. Staring pitcher Nick Pivetta maintained the lead for the Red Sox with another stellar outing. The right-hander gave up zero earned runs on 100 pitches as Boston took the game away in the eighth inning with four runs.
The Red Sox did not get their win in a flashy manner but rather through consistent groundballs. Boston outhit Oakland 14-4 and hit five doubles. Every Red Sox starter recorded at least one base hit as Boston's offense continues to find its consistency.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Pivetta pitched seven shutout innings against the A's. He only gave up two hits and struck out seven batters.
-- Alex Verdugo batted 3-for-5, and one of those hits was a double (13th of the season). The left fielder scored one run and had two RBI.
-- Xander Bogaerts made franchise history, breaking Everett Scott’s record for most games played at shortstop (1,082). Bogaerts batted 2-for-3 and score two runs Saturday.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook closed Pivetta's strikeout prop at 5.5, and the right-hander comfortably went over that mark. A $100 bet on the Over (+125) would have paid out $225.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will look to sweep the A's on Sunday at 4:07 p.m. ET. Full coverage of the game will be on NESN, including an hour of pregame coverage starting at 3 p.m.
