fb-pixelBradley, Moreland have a blast as Sox win eighth straight - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
Red Sox 7, A’s 3

Bradley, Moreland have a blast as Sox win eighth straight

Mitch Moreland (right) celebrates his sixth-inning grand slam with Mookie Betts Friday in Oakland.Ben Margot/Associated press

Get Globe sports news alerts right in your inbox

OAKLAND, Calif. — Since the day he was introduced as manager six months ago Red Sox manager Alex Cora has promoted an aggressive approach at the plate.

Even going back to his first interview with the team, Cora said he saw a talented group of hitters who had become too predictable, if not passive.

The Sox had long instructed their players to work the count and drive the starting pitcher out of the game. It was a tactic that worked for years but grew rusty when so many teams built deep, powerful bullpens.

Advertisement



When Mitch Moreland came to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth inning on Friday night, Cora’s message was never louder.

Moreland blasted yet another grand slam as the Red Sox came back to beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-3.

The 17-2 Sox have won eight straight and 17 of 18 since an Opening Day loss.

The grand slam was the fifth in the last 12 games and the Sox have scored 34 runs four games into a nine-game road trip.

The Sox hit 15 home runs in April last season. They have 13 in the last four games.

None of this is remotely normal.

“They’re doing something special, let’s be honest,” Cora said. “We talked about it in our [pre-game] meeting: stay humble, stay hungry. There’s a lot of people watching the team now and there’s a lot of people talking about the team.

“You can’t help it. You flip the channels and they’re talking about what’s going on. But they’re humble and hungry. They’re still doing it. That makes me proud.”

In a 3-3 game, Oakland starter Kendall Graveman had retired 11 consecutive batters before Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez singled to start the sixth inning.

Advertisement



Oakland manager Bob Melvin went to righthander Emilio Pagan. His first pitch was a slider that stayed high in the strike zone and Moreland drove it 10 rows deep in the right field stands.

Moreland was looking for a high pitch from the start.

“First pitch, it happened to be a slider that popped up out of his hand and I put a good swing on it,” Moreland said.

It didn’t just happen. Hitting coaches Tim Hyers and Andy Barkett told Moreland that Pagan was likely to elevate a fastball. That it was a breaking ball mattered less than the location.

Moreland has 15 career home runs in 46 career games at Oakland Coliseum, the most by a visiting player since 2010. He had been tied with Mike Trout.

“I wish it was that way at every park,” said Moreland, who was in the lineup to give J.D. Martinez a day off.

Drew Pomeranz was activated off the disabled list to make the start for the Sox and nearly didn’t get through the first inning.

Stephen Piscotty drew a one-out walk and scored when Jed Lowrie doubled down the line in right field. Lowrie leads the majors with 22 RBIs.

With two outs, Pomeranz struck out Matt Chapman with a sharp-breaking curveball. But the ball bounced away from Christian Vazquez. Lowrie went to third and Chapman to first on the wild pitch.

The Athletics took advantage of the mistake. Matt Olson grounded an RBI single to left field. Mark Canha then singled to right to score Chapman.

Advertisement



With Hector Velazquez warming up, Pomeranz was able to strike out Chad Pinder to end a 45-pitch inning.

The 3-0 lead didn’t last long. Jackie Bradley Jr. belted a three-run homer to right field in the second inning.

When Pomeranz put two more men on base in the bottom of the inning, Cora went to the mound and for his first time as manager it wasn’t to take the pitcher out of the game. It was to tell Pomeranz to toughen up.

“Keep fighting, give us a chance,” Cora said. “Our offense is good enough that we’re always a swing away from getting the lead. Keep battling.”

Pomeranz struck out Khris Davis to end the inning then struck out the side in the third.

“Thankfully I only gave up three runs,” said Pomeranz, who retired six of the last seven batters he faced and threw 88 pitches over 3 2/3 innings. “Obviously I’d like to have a little better start than that. But first time out and we won the game.”

Velazquez (3-0) pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

The Athletics loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning but Matt Barnes came out of the bullpen to strike out pinch hitter Matt Joyce, winning a seven-pitch battle.

Barnes spun around on the mound and pumped his fist after Joyce swung through a fastball.

Joe Kelly finished the game. In all, four relievers combined on 5 1/3 shutout innings.

Advertisement



Moreland admitted he’s never seen anything like what the Sox are doing now. None of the players have.

“We know that we’re a special group, we’re a special team,” Moreland said. “We’re really good.”


Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.