BOSTON (AP) — Allowing a home run to the first batter he faced wasn’t even the lowest point of a short night for Oakland rookie Sean Manaea.
Mookie Betts’ leadoff homer put Boston up 1-0, then a few batters later Hanley Ramirez welcomed Manaea to Fenway Park with a towering two-run shot as the Red Sox had a season-high 16 hits and beat the injury-depleted Athletics 13-5 on Tuesday night.
“I felt good. My body felt great. The pitches felt great. It just came down to locating and I didn’t do that well at all tonight,” Manaea said. “That’s pretty much what it came down to.”
Travis Shaw added a homer as the Athletics lost their fourth consecutive game.
For Manaea (0-1), it was his second straight rough outing, giving up 10 hits and eight runs in 2 2-3 innings.
“I felt like I was maybe getting inside, but looking back on it I was pretty much throwing it down the middle,” Manaea said. “It’s just frustrating because I know I’m a lot better than this.”
Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his major league-best hitting streak to 16 games as Boston won its third straight. Shaw tied his career-high with five RBIs.
After the three-run first inning the Red Sox followed that up with a five-run third inning to blow the game open.
“Every at-bat everybody comes with something,” Ramirez said. “It’s the whole team. ... What we’re doing right now, we gotta keep doing it.”
Sean O’Sullivan (1-0) got the victory in his first start with the Red Sox after signing a minor league contract in December.
David Ortiz, who entered Tuesday leading Boston with a .321 average and nine home runs, had the night off.
He wasn’t needed.
The Red Sox won for the fifth time in seven games and have outscored the A’s 27-12 in the first two games of the series.
Oakland manager Bob Melvin said the issues haven’t just been with the A’s starters, but also has trickled into the bullpen.
“That’s been a concern,” he said. “We feel like we have quality starters. We’re just going through a real tough stretch.”
O’Sullivan went six innings, giving up four runs and 12 hits, while striking out three. O’Sullivan was called up on Friday, taking the roster spot of Henry Owens, who was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Boston got the scoring going early. With big run support, O’Sullivan allowed seven hits through five innings, before giving up five hits and four runs in the sixth.
Billy Butler had three hits and Coco Crisp two RBIs to lead Oakland.
Manaea said his recent issues are bigger than his inability to make in-game adjustments when things have gone badly.
“It’s not really an excuse. I should be used to that,” he said. “It’s stuff that I should be adjusting to and maybe getting the ball down or making adjustments like that. It’s just not working right now and I’ve just got to learn that.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: IF/OF Mark Canha (back strain) and RHP Liam Hendriks (strained right triceps) are on the 15-day disabled list. The A’s recalled RHP Andrew Triggs, LHP Daniel Coulombe from Triple-A Nashville and added IF Tyler Ladendorf to the active roster, which has been depleted by injuries.
Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee) is scheduled to pitch his next rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday. He is coming off his third rehab start on Saturday, in which he threw 93 pitches in 5 2/3 innings. Red Sox manager John Farrell said Rodriguez is making strides in both his mobility and stability on his knee. “The last hurdle for an athlete or pitcher is the mental block,” Farrell said. “He’s going out and he’s throwing really hard pitches, so there’s support (and) there’s strength and he’s getting back in shape at the same time.”
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP Eric Surkamp (0-2, 5.59 ERA) will return from a stint at Triple-A Nashville for his first start for Oakland since April 24. The A’s needed to shuffle their rotation after getting rained out in Baltimore on Friday and playing a doubleheader the next day.
Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (5-1, 2.95) is coming off his only loss of the season after the Yankees ended his 5-0 start last week in New York. In his past nine games against Oakland, he has allowed more than three earned runs only once, going 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA.