Stephen Piscotty collected two singles, a double and a home run Thursday afternoon, driving in five runs as the Oakland Athletics beat the visiting Boston Red Sox 7-3 to win the series 3-1.
Three Oakland relievers combined to pitch 3 2/3 innings of two-hit, shutout relief, protecting an A's lead that produced their third win in the series against the defending World Series champions.
J.D. Martinez hit a solo home run, his third of the season, for Boston, which fell to 2-6 on its season-opening trip that moves to Arizona on Friday.
The Red Sox don't get their home opener until Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Riding the momentum of a 6-3 win over the A's on Wednesday night, the Red Sox jumped on slow-starting Oakland left-hander Brett Anderson (2-0) for a 3-0 lead in the first three innings.
Anderson was his own worst enemy in a two-run first, walking Xander Bogaerts and Brock Holt with the bases loaded to force in runs.
After Martinez's homer, Piscotty got the A's even in the bottom of the third with a three-run shot, his second of the season, off Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2).
Josh Phegley set up the inning with a double.
Oakland took the lead for good in the fourth on an RBI double by Robbie Grossman, scoring Ramon Laureano.
One out later, Piscotty belted a ground-rule double to right-center field, scoring two runs to give Oakland a 6-3 lead.
Rodriguez (0-2) was pulled one batter later, charged with six runs in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed eight hits and three walks, and struck out two.
Anderson made it through 5 1/3 innings, turning over a three-run lead to the Oakland bullpen. He gave up three runs and eight hits, walked four and struck out three.
While A's relievers Lou Trivino, Joakim Soria and Liam Hendriks were re-establishing the type of dominant pitching that produced two consecutive shutout wins to begin the series, Oakland tacked on another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Khris Davis. Piscotty contributed a single in the inning.
Phegley finished with two hits and scored twice for the A's, who outhit the Red Sox 13-10. Davis also had two hits, while Marcus Semien also scored twice.
Martinez and Andrew Benintendi had two hits apiece for the Red Sox.
--Field Level Media
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Stephen Piscotty, Nick Martini and Chad Pinder smacked home runs to highlight a 22-hit assault Thursday afternoon, powering the Oakland Athletics to a 21-3 trouncing of the Los Angeles Angels in Oakland, California.
Marcus Semien collected three hits and five RBIs as the A's (92-61) amassed a season-high for runs en route to their second straight win, one that increased their lead over idle Tampa Bay (85-66) to six games in the race for the second wild-card spot in the American League.
Mike Trout homered for the Angels, his 36th of the season.
Down 1-0 after Jose Fernandez drove in a run against Oakland starter Edwin Jackson (6-3) with a third-inning double, the A's responded with five runs in the bottom of the third and seven in the fourth for a 12-1 lead as they never looked back.
Piscotty had the big hit of the third inning, a three-run homer three batters after a two-run double by Matt Chapman. The homer was Piscotty's 26th of the season.
The A's made it a rout in the fourth with seven consecutive hits -- RBI singles by Jed Lowrie, Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Piscotty, then a double by Ramon Laureano before Semien lined a two-run single.
Oakland added six runs in the sixth inning, with Semien providing a bases-clearing double, and teed off on Francisco Arcia, a catcher, for three runs in the seventh on home runs by Martini, a two-run shot that was the first of his career, and Pinder, his 12th.
Arcia got a measure of revenge in the ninth inning, powering his sixth homer of the season off Oakland's fifth pitcher, Chris Hatcher, to complete the scoring.
Jackson worked one out into the sixth inning, allowing two runs and three hits. He walked three and struck out seven.
Angels starter Matt Shoemaker (2-2) didn't survive the third, pulled after giving up Oakland's first five runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Piscotty finished with four RBIs for the A's, while Martini and Josh Phegley each scored three times and recorded three hits.
Piscotty, Lowrie, Davis, Laureano and Chapman added two hits apiece for the A's, who won the series two games to one.
Fernandez had two hits for the Angels, who had won the series opener 9-7 before getting outscored 31-3 in the next two games.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
