, who then struck out three straight before giving up Laureano's leadoff drive the next inning.Chad Pinder added a two-run homer in the sixth for the A's to back Aaron Brooks (1-0). The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a walk to continue a stretch of stellar outings by A's starters. They have given up just one run over 30 innings the past five games since the team returned from an 0-2 trip to Tokyo, all allowing three hits or fewer. There has been a pair of shutouts, too.Pinder's first home run of the year was the 11th surrendered by Red Sox starters in 20 innings to begin 2019. Matt Chapman homered leading off the eighth before pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales' RBI single.Xander Bogaerts went 2 for 3 with a double after Boston's shortstop signed a $120 million, six-year contract covering 2020-25, a deal that raises his guarantee to $132 million over seven seasons.He doubled and went home on Mitch Moreland's single, but Bogaerts was out at the plate on a 96 mph throw home by Laureano. The call stood after going to replay review, although it appeared Bogaerts' foot beat the tag by catcher Nick Hundley.The tarp was on the field more than three hours before first pitch because of rain, and neither team took batting practice on the field. There was a short drizzle before Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 900th career appearance. It tied him for 25th all-time with Arthur Rhodes.Price struck out nine with two walks over six innings, tagged for four runs and five hits - with the three homers. It was the left-hander's 300th major league appearance, 290th start.It has been a slow start for the defending champion Red Sox, who lost three of four at Seattle to open the year and begin 2019 with an 11-game road trip. It is the most road games to begin a season in franchise history.Boston has struggled at the Oakland Coliseum, 15-36 in the last 51 games while going 3-12-1 in their previous 16 series here.CAFARDO TRIBUTEA pregame tribute and applause, instead of a moment of silence, was held in honor of late Boston Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo, who died at age 62 in February while at spring training in Florida. A bouquet of flowers sat on the table at his press box seat.CHAMPS GALOREOn Tuesday night, the reigning World Series champs will play next-door at the same time the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors host the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia, on the injured list with left knee inflammation, was scheduled to play nine innings in his second extended spring training game Tuesday before beginning a rehab assignment with Class A Greenville on Thursday.Athletics: RHP Chris Bassitt will start for Class A Stockton on Thursday as he works back from the injured list for a bruised right lower leg.UP NEXTRed Sox: LHP Chris Sale (0-1, 21.00 ERA), tagged for seven runs in three innings pitching opening day at Seattle, makes his second 2019 start.Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers (1-1, 5.00) looks to build off six scoreless innings in the home opener Thursday against the Angels.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Hitting vs. pitching as Red Sox visit A's Hot hitting goes toe-to-toe with even hotter pitching when the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics open a four-game series Monday night in Oakland.The schedule is similar to last season, when the Red Sox made an April trip to Oakland and lost two of three, held to a total of one run in the two losses.Boston started this season in the West, losing three of four in Seattle despite scoring 24 runs.That's nearly three times as many as the A's allowed in four games against the Los Angeles Angels, with Oakland getting dominating starting pitching while winning three of the four.Right-hander Aaron Brooks hopes to continue that run, opposed by Red Sox lefty David Price.Brooks earned the No. 5 spot in the Oakland rotation, coincidentally, because the guy with whom he was acquired from Kansas City in 2015 -- left-hander Sean Manaea -- has started the year on the injured list following shoulder surgery.The 28-year-old pitched just three times in the majors last season, all late in one-sided games. He hasn't thrown a meaningful pitch in the majors since 2015.He also faced the Red Sox for the only time in his career that year. Fittingly, it was as a mop-up man in a game the Royals were losing 10-0.He allowed three runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings, giving him a lifetime 8.10 ERA against the Red Sox.That might make him the ace of the current Boston staff the way its four starters struggled in Seattle.The foursome compiled a 13.20 ERA, as opposed to the 0.38 brilliance put up by Oakland's starters in its series against the Angels.A's manager Bob Melvin admitted after Sunday's 2-1 win that his team's torrid stretch of pitching has caught even him by surprise."We didn't have enough spring to envision this could ever happen," he told reporters, alluding to a shortened exhibition season caused by a season-opening trip to Japan. "All the things just came together and we got four real good games from our starters." Brooks will have to deal with some scorching hitters, led by J. D. Martinez, who drove in seven runs while going 7-for-17 (.412) with two home runs against the Mariners.Price, a World Series hero for the Red Sox last October after going 16-7 with a 3.58 ERA in the regular season, is slotted fifth in Boston's season-opening rotation because of an illness that slowed his build-up in March.But make no mistake: He's not entering the season thinking like your usual fifth starter."I've said it many times: I didn't come here to win one World Series," he assured reporters during spring training. "I came here to win multiple World Series. We won one last year and we want to do it again." Price has gone 4-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 career starts against the A's.One of those losses came on Boston's trip to Oakland last April, when Price was allowed to pitch into the eighth inning of a 1-1 tie.He wound up giving up a two-out, three-run home run to Khris Davis on his final pitch in a game the Red Sox lost 4-1.--Field Level Media
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