Red Sox Notes: Boston Impressed By ‘Electric Stuff’ From A’s Pitcher

The Boston Red Sox hit a detour amid their second-half hot streak, unable to defeat the league-worst Oakland Athletics in Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

More specifically, the Red Sox lineup wasn’t able to figure out Oakland starter Luis Medina, who held Boston scoreless through 5 2/3 innings before handing it off to the bullpen, which followed the right-hander’s lead to end an eight-game Athletics losing streak dating back to July 6.

Boston leaned to left-hander Joe Jacques to open up the game, and despite coughing up a three-run A’s rally in the second inning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora attributed the loss to a stagnant offensive output, uncharacteristic by Boston’s recent standards that scored 36 runs in its first four games following the All-Star break.

“This is more about the offense than anything else,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.

The Red Sox mustered up just five base hits to seven from the Athletics, also going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position with just two extra-base hits.

Medina struck out six Boston hitters, taking home his first victory since June 10. His impressive velocity didn’t catch the Red Sox off guard as during his last start — which also came against Boston on July 7 — Medina racked up nine strikeouts and escaped what could’ve been a disastrous jam, which Cora recalled.

“He got good stuff,” Cora said. “It was 96 (mph) with a good breaking ball. Did a good job against us over there (at Fenway Park). He came in with bases loaded I think it was, right? We scored all those runs and we didn’t hit the ball hard against him and then he settled down and pitched well, and today he did an outstanding job and the bullpen — you saw the stuff, man. The big leagues is that way, you know. You got guys coming out the bullpen throwing 97, 98, it’s not that easy.”

Only two Red Sox batters were able to record a hit off Medina, while six others combined to go 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts — stumping Boston’s lineup en route to its first loss to Oakland in six meetings this season.

“He’s got some electric stuff,” Rob Refsnyder told reporters, per NESN. “The scouting report was 93, 98 and he was throwing some 99’s, 100’s, so I think he’s just like — really, really quality stuff and it looks like he’s only getting better.”

Here are more notes from Tuesday’s Red Sox-Athletics game:

— Boston is 8-2 in its last 10 games, still standing one game above the Yankees in the American League East.

— Justin Turner extended his hit streak to 14 consecutive games, hitting .396 with three home runs, five doubles and 17 RBIs. Turner’s hit streak is just second to Hall of Famer Ted Williams (1957) for the longest streak by a player 38 years or older in Red Sox history.

— Masataka Yoshida, who went 2-for-4 with two doubles, notched his 10th two-plus-hit performance in the last 12 games. The 29-year-old rookie is the AL leader in batting average (.422) since June 30, with Turner third (.396) and Rafael Devers fifth (.362).

— Boston is just 1-4 against AL West teams on the road this season.

— The Red Sox will wrap up their three-game set with the Athletics, seeking a series win in Oakland on Wednesday. First pitch from the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is scheduled for 3:37 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.

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