Red Sox @ A's Game Thread/ 17th- 19th July 2023

It sounded more like a precautionary thing than anything else, but please don't let Devers have to be out for any length of time.  

I think Justin Turner has become my current favorite Red Sox player, for reasons both on and off the field.

It's like we use to tell SBF, the writers are going to build up huge quads jumping on and off the bandwagon so often.  But one of my complaints about the writers is that they discuss results, not strategy.  A guy like Lou forms an opinion, and today's results won't change that opinion. 


And the writers are too two-dimensional.  They seem to want to lambaste the team when we are in a slump. and praise us when we do well.  The fact is that we are a fairly good team, and not much more or much less than that.

Nor do they understand context.  I think we are playing well with the 11-2, but part of that is the Oak-CHC-Oak schedule and part of that is the 3-0 in one-run games.

That was an awesome article.  It's a nice delineation between technical and the physical/muscle memory side.

Red Sox shake off rare quiet night vs. A's
Yoshida stays hot as Boston anticipates Story's return to lineup
3:06 AM ADT
Sonja Chen

Sonja Chen
@sonjamchen

OAKLAND -- When Nick Pivetta dominated with a 13-strikeout relief outing on Monday that will live on in Red Sox history, A's manager Mark Kotsay likened him to a "buzzsaw" that carved through Oakland's lineup.

The Red Sox seemingly ran into one of their own as the tables turned in a 3-0 loss on Tuesday night that evened the three-game set at the Coliseum.

Boston's lineup faced a familiar foe in Luis Medina, who struck out a career-high nine batters and allowed four runs on seven hits on July 7 at Fenway Park. The Red Sox were well aware of Medina's swing-and-miss potential, but this time around, the A's right-hander took it one step further by putting up zeros over 5 2/3 frames.

"I mean, he pitched well against us [at Fenway], too," manager Alex Cora said. "He's got good stuff. He had a better curveball today than at home, so he kept us off-balance. He was able to use the sinker in after slowing them down, and we didn't do much."

The Red Sox entered the day having gone 11-2 over their past 13 games, the best record in the Majors since June 30. In that span, just about everything has gone right for Boston -- on average, the lineup plated 6.5 runs per game, while the pitching staff limited opponents to 3.9.

On Tuesday, Red Sox pitchers did enough to keep the game well within reach. Opener Joe Jacques allowed three runs on a pair of homers before recording an out in the bottom of the second, but Boston pitchers held Oakland scoreless the rest of the way, highlighted by Chris Murphy's six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings in a bulk role.

But the bats could not scratch anything across as Medina set the tone for a strong night of A's pitching. The Red Sox were held to five knocks -- including two doubles from Masataka Yoshida, his 10th multi-hit game in his last 12 -- and only managed to work one walk, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranding six.

Justin Turner did manage to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, however, the longest active streak in the Majors.

“We recognized how good [Medina's] stuff was. We didn’t take it lightly," said Rob Refsnyder, who singled with two outs in the top of the ninth. "We obviously did our homework, scouting report, and sometimes you just can’t put together a string of hits or get anything going."

As hot as Boston's bats have been lately, there remains plenty of room for improvement -- and a key reinforcement is on the way.

Cora announced prior to the game that shortstop Trevor Story, who underwent an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in February, will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Portland on Friday. It's a promising development for a Red Sox squad that could benefit from his presence, particularly at the plate.

Entering Tuesday, Red Sox shortstops had combined for a .211 batting average and a .608 OPS, both of which ranked last among all defensive positions on the team. Story's first year with Boston didn't entirely live up to expectations -- due in part to various injuries that cut his season short at 94 games -- but he has the tools to energize a Red Sox team that is already trending in the right direction.

"One thing that we know for sure is that he's going to be dynamic defensively, he's going to be dynamic running the bases," Cora said pregame. "I think it's just a matter of the timing offensively, and we'll see how we structure it. Probably take care of him early on, when he comes back. And then from there, whenever he's actually locked in, we'll make adjustments in the lineup."

Story hasn't appeared in a game since Sept. 11, 2022. Given that the team doesn't want to rush his return to action, it's possible that his rehab assignment could span the maximum 20 days, pushing his season debut to early August.

Until then, the Red Sox are aware that they can't allow one blip to disrupt the rhythm they've been in of late.

"Just a bump in the road," Refsnyder said. "I think the offense has been kind of clicking. … It happens."

Red Sox lose: Offense (5 hits) goes quiet in shutout loss to lowly A’s

Updated: Jul. 19, 2023, 12:00 a.m.|Published: Jul. 18, 2023, 11:58 p.m.

By

Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com

For the second straight night, the Red Sox enjoyed a dominant performance from a bulk reliever against the Athletics on Tuesday. This time, though, Chris Murphy’s strong outing came too late to make a difference.

Two early Oakland homers doomed Sox opener Joe Jacques as Boston was shut out by the Athletics, 3-0, at Oakland Coliseum. Murphy struck out six and allowed just two hits in 4 ⅔ innings but the club’s offense couldn’t get anything going behind him. Facing righty Luis Medina, who they tagged for four runs in six innings on July 7, the Sox mustered just three hits in 5 ⅔ shutout innings (and just five hits total).

The Red Sox, who entered having won 11 of their last 13 games, fell to 51-45. The loss was their first in four games against the last-place A’s in July.

Jacques, making his first major league start, avoided trouble in the first (Tony Kemp was ruled out after running out of the basepaths trying to score on a passed ball) but was hit hard in the second by a couple of left-handed hitters. Ryan Noda led off the inning with a solo homer, then after Aledmys Díaz singled, JJ Bleday gave Oakland a three-run cushion with a two-run shot to left-center. Jacques was tagged for three runs and four hits in just 1 ⅓ frames; his ERA rose to 5.79.

From there, the Red Sox were never able to draw closer. Masataka Yoshida had two doubles in the loss and Justin Turner extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 14 games with a sixth-inning single.


Sloppy defense haunts Sox

The Red Sox committed three errors and had a fourth overturned in the loss. Yu Chang committed a throwing error in the second, allowing Díaz to advance to second after his single. Turner, playing third base in place of the injured Rafael Devers (day-to-day with calf tightness) committed two miscues (a fielding error and a throwing error).

Alex Verdugo was originally charged with an error on a Tony Kemp leadoff double in the first but it was changed to a triple after further review.

Bello will pitch series finale

Young ace Brayan Bello (7-5, 3.14 ERA) will get the nod for the Red Sox on Wednesday night as they look to close their road trip on a high note (and attempt to clinch their fifth series win in a row. Lefty Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6.66 ERA) will start for the A’s.

First pitch is at 3:37 p.m. ET. The Red Sox will then have Thursday off before welcoming the Mets to Fenway Park for a three-game series that begins Friday.