BOSTON --- It’s difficult to be swept in a series when you almost never lose the finale.


Such was the case for the Red Sox on Wednesday night against the Athletics, a club that has been a major thorn in their side on the young season.


Boston rebounded after two frustrating nights at Fenway Park, riding home runs by J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts to a 6-4 victory over Oakland.


Martinez launched a two-run shot to left center to highlight a three-run [...]

Bill Koch

BOSTON --- It’s difficult to be swept in a series when you almost never lose the finale.

Such was the case for the Red Sox on Wednesday night against the Athletics, a club that has been a major thorn in their side on the young season.

Boston rebounded after two frustrating nights at Fenway Park, riding home runs by J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts to a 6-4 victory over Oakland.

Martinez launched a two-run shot to left center to highlight a three-run bottom of the first inning and Bogaerts crushed a three-run drive onto Lansdowne Street in the bottom of the sixth, as the Red Sox did all of their scoring in those two frames. Chris Sale and four relievers pushed Boston to 13-1 wrapping up their 14 series to date, the lone loss a 4-1 setback at the Athletics on April 22.

“First two games against them, pretty rough,” Sale said. “It’s nice to be able to end the series on a good note.”

Three of the first four Red Sox hitters reached safely and scored, with Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi knocking back-to-back singles and Hanley Ramirez plating a run with a grounder to short. Martinez completed the early blitz of Oakland starter Trevor Cahill by hammering a 2-1 pitch out by the flagpole, his seventh homer in 14 games to make it 3-0.

“There was a streak where he was just swinging and first pitches and getting hits and bombs,” Bogaerts said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

Matt Barnes turned in a scoreless top of the sixth against the heart of the Oakland order, and the Red Sox doubled their offensive output in the bottom of the inning. Ramirez singled, Martinez walked and Bogaerts connected on a majestic drive that sailed out of sight toward Kenmore Square. It was suddenly a 6-2 lead, and a solo homer by Matt Joyce against Heath Hembree in the seventh barely made a dent.

“I went up with a plan and kind of stuck to it,” Bogaerts said. “I know (Athletics reliever Ryan Dull) has a good fastball and a good slider, and sometimes the percentages are good to go with.”

Sale couldn’t quite harness his crackling fastball on this night, limited to five innings as his pitch count swelled to 102. The left-hander issued four walks, the most in any of his 42 starts with Boston, and the last came back to bite him in the top of the fifth. Chad Pinder drew a free pass and Marcus Semien sent a two-run blast onto Lansdowne Street to trim the Athletics’ deficit to 3-2.

“Four walks, that’s not my game,” Sale said. “That’s not who I am. Obviously you want to be better than that.”

Sale threw 60 pitches at 95 mph or harder, a noticeable jump from the 92.9 mph he averaged on his fastball through his first nine starts. There have been signs of the left-hander resuming the dominant form that carried him through his first season with Boston in 2017, as he fanned 27 against just one walk over his previous two starts. Sale completed nine inning for the first time since August 2016 in his last outing, an eventual 12-inning loss at the Blue Jays on Friday night.

“There were some tough at-bats today,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That was enough.”

Barnes worked around a two-out single in the sixth, excelling in the sort of high-leverage role he’s carved out early in the season. Joe Kelly’s leadoff walk in the eighth did no harm, as a fielder’s choice and a 6-4-3 double play left the potential tying run in the on-deck circle. Craig Kimbrel surrendered a leadoff homer to Matt Olson in the ninth, the only hit he allowed while working for the first time since Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the Blue Jays.

 

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25