GAME #41, BOSTON RED SOX AT OAKLAND A'S

[Bear]

RED SOX V A'S

FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017, 9:30PM AT OAKLAND COLISEUM

TV:  NESN, NBCSCA

BOSTON, ( 21-19).........................................................................OAKLAND, (18-23)

BOSTON:

CHRIS SALE, LHP, 4-2, 2.15 ERA, 85K

The lefty will try to tie his own Major League record--also owned by Pedro
Martinez--by striking out ten or more for an eighth straight start.  Sale has
held opponents to a 1.60 average so far this season.

OAKLAND:

KENDALL GRAVEMAN, RHP, 2-2, 3.95 ERA, 27K

Gravemen has allowed four or more runs in two of his three starts,
after giving up no more than two in any of his previous four.  Most recently,
he allowed four runs on nine hits across 6 2/3 innings in Texas on Sunday.

Sale eyes record-tying 8th straight 10-K start

Eric Espinoza

Chris Sale will try to tie a Major League record he already co-owns, eight straight starts of 10 strikeouts or more, when he leads the Red Sox against Kendall Graveman and the A's on Friday night at the Coliseum.

Sale and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez share the record. The lefty accomplished the feat in 2015 with the White Sox. Sale also enters the contest with a Major League-leading 85 strikeouts, tied with Randy Johnson (1998, Houston Astros) for the most by a pitcher through his first eight starts with a new club.

Safe to say, Boston manager John Farrell is happy to have Sale in the rotation.

"We're looking at one of the premier guys in baseball," Farrell said. "We're fortunate to watch it every time he walks to the mound. You love that competitiveness. The physical stuff speaks for itself. But I think his attack of hitters has rubbed off on other pitchers that we have on our staff. He's a leader in his own right."

The dominant southpaw totes a 4-2 record, 2.15 ERA and Major League-best 0.77 WHIP. While with the White Sox, Sale won both of his starts against the A's in 2016, allowing three earned runs while striking out 16 in 15 innings.
Oakland will counter with Graveman, who hasn't posted back-to-back quality starts since his first two outings of the season. Graveman went 6 2/3 innings in a losing effort against Texas on Sunday, allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• It's hard enough for hitters to deal with Sale's high-90s fastball and sweeping slider, which come in from a release point that's extremely hard to pick up. So when Sale starts mixing in his 86-mph changeup, it's just one more thing for those batters to worry about. Boston's ace is the undisputed king of pitching backward with the changeup, throwing it for a called strike on the first pitch of the at-bat 178 times in the Statcast Era, nearly twice as many as any other pitcher.

• A's infielders Adam Rosales and Jed Lowrie each own a .412 career batting average against Sale, which is tied for the fifth-highest mark for any hitter with at least 15 plate appearances against the lefty.

• Boston rookie outfielder Andrew Benintendi is expected to be back in the starting lineup on Friday after being held out on Thursday against A's ace Sonny Gray. Benintendi is mired in an 0-for-26 slump in his past seven contests that has dropped his batting average from .339 to .280.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170519231055404/sale-eyes-record-tying-8th-straight-10-k-start/?game_pk=490719

[Schloicka]

Good to see Benintendi get a hit. Not good to strand him at 3rd.

[markj]

LOBsters are piling up.

[markj]

Rats, got up to get a drink and missed two runs.

[Schloicka]

Nice to see Moreland get another HR. Had one last night too. Maybe his stroke is coming along.

[Schloicka]

Nice play by the A's 3rd baseman to deny the Sox some runs.

[markj]

Mookie misread that one.

[markj]

Wow, that's a big strike zone for Sale.

[markj]

There goes the lead. What is wrong with this team? Is there some bizarre psychological thing that keeps them from scoring runs when Sale is pitching?

[elktonnick]

The baseball notwithstanding this is a much better NESN broadcast with Tom Caron doing the play by play.  He is a heck of an improvement over the repetitious, humorless and otherwise dull Dave O'Brien.

[markj]

As usual I have it on mute. I did see him with Remy at the beginning and wondered what was going on. OB sick or something?

[markj]

Kelly done good. Can't fault the pitching in this game.

[markj]

Gawd, this team is hard to watch. What a limp, useless offense.

[Schloicka]

Top of the order can't get it done in top of the 9th. Betts hit a bullet to 3rd and Pedroia grounds the ball to 2nd for the force out.

[Schloicka]

As usual I have it on mute. I did see him with Remy at the beginning and wondered what was going on. OB sick or something?

His daughter is graduating from college.