Athletics left-hander Brett Anderson was in top form Tuesday
night, something the Boston Red Sox were familiar with. Anderson
blanked the Red Sox for eight innings and allowed just one runner
as far as second base in the Athletics’ 5-0 victory before a
bipartisan crowd of 25,230 at the Oakland Coliseum.
OAKLAND
Athletics left-hander Brett Anderson was in top form Tuesday night, something the Boston Red Sox were familiar with.
Anderson blanked the Red Sox for eight innings and allowed just one runner as far as second base in the Athletics’ 5-0 victory before a bipartisan crowd of 25,230 at the Oakland Coliseum.
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The Athletics won their third straight and climbed above .500 for the first time this season at 9-8. They’ve done it behind a string of dominant starting pitching performances.
Over the past five games, Oakland’s starters have allowed just one earned run in 33 2/3 innings, an ERA of 0.27. For the season, the A’s rotation leads the major leagues with a 2.01 ERA.
Anderson’s dominance was reminiscent of a previous start against Boston, which happened to be his best game in the majors. He spun a two-hit shutout at Fenway Park as a rookie on July 6, 2009.
He’s 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in six career starts against the Sox.
The only hit Anderson allowed through the first seven innings came in the first, when Adrian Gonzalez ripped a single off the right-field wall. David DeJesus made a great play on the ball to hold Gonzalez at first.
Anderson didn’t face a real threat until the top of the eighth. With two outs, Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled back-to-back. But Anderson got Darnell McDonald swinging on a slider to end the threat.
Other than that, Anderson’s only trouble came from a familiar nemesis—his own footwork. Always one to poke fun at his lack of gracefulness on the mound, Anderson knocked down a comebacker from Gonzalez in the seventh but lost his balance as he went to throw to first. He delivered a ball in the dirt that went for an error.
No matter—Gonzalez was erased on Kevin Youkilis’ 6-4-3 double play.
The A’s had nearly as much trouble breaking through against John Lackey (1-2), who entered Tuesday 17-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 31 starts against Oakland.
The right-hander limited the A’s to four hits and one run over six innings. He struck out three and walked one.
The A’s got to Lackey in the bottom of the first.
Coco Crisp blooped a leadoff single to left and stole second. He advanced to third on Daric Barton’s grounder to second and scored on DeJesus’ ground out to short.
The A’s added insurance with a four-run eighth. No. 9 hitter Cliff Pennington doubled off the wall in right-center, then stole third. Crisp’s fly ball to center was too shallow for Pennington to tag on, but Barton singled up the middle to bring him home and give the A’s a 2-0 lead.
Josh Willingham’s two-out walk put two runners on, and the A’s won the first Hideki vs. Hideki matchup of the season. Hideki Matsui ripped a two-run double off lefty reliever Hideki Okajima to make it 4-0.
Kurt Suzuki’s RBI single added more cushion.
The Red Sox’s frustration wasn’t limited to their hitters.
After Anderson picked Dustin Pedroia off first in the fourth, Boston manager Terry Francona was ejected by home plate umpire Jim Reynolds for arguing that Anderson should have been called for a balk.
The A’s turned an unusual double play in the eighth. After David Ortiz’s leadoff single, pinch runner Jacoby Ellsbury attempted to steal second.
Mike Cameron struck out swinging and was called for interference as Suzuki threw to second. Ellsbury was automatically out.
— Story by Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
