Red Sox Notes: Boston Capitalizes On ‘Big Innings’ To Build Leads vs. Athletics

The Boston Red Sox wasted no time riding the momentum of a 5-1 road trip with an offensive outburst in a 12-9 win over the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park.

Boston scored 11 runs in the first two innings, including an eight-run second inning, against the Athletics’ staff. Alex Cora appreciated the quality of the at-bats shown by his young Red Sox lineup, particularly with extra-base hits from Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela.

“We are a dynamic offense,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Like I said the other day on national TV, early in the season (we were) homers and strikeouts. We didn’t hit with men in scoring position, but the line was moving. In St. Louis, we started finding holes. We did a good job in Tampa. All of the sudden, we were very athletic. We put pressure on the opposition. At the same time, we can hit the ball out of the ballpark.”

The Red Sox racked up 12 runs on 13 hits. The lineup hit one through nine in the order. As Boston stacks performances with healthy bats, the Red Sox are taking off as a group.

The Red Sox are averaging 5.3 runs per game since June 1 and currently rank ninth in the majors in batting average (.253) and sixth in OPS (.744). Even through the ups and downs of recent seasons, Boston has finished as a top-10 offense in six consecutive seasons entering 2024.

With the summer weather heating up, so is the Boston lineup.

“It’s a good offense,” Cora added. “We’re gonna have big innings. There’s going to be games where we’re going to strike out a lot.”

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

— Bello tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts on the night and recorded the first 10 out via the strikeout.

— Every Red Sox hitter in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit and one run.

— Boston posted its third-highest scoring total of the season with 12 runs.

— Alex Cora moved into sole possession of fourth place in franchise history with 490 managerial wins, per Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long.

— The Red Sox moved within 3.5 games of the New York Yankees in the standings after their loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

— Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Devers combined for seven RBIs in the win.

— Boston moves to 10-6 in games started by Bello this season.

— The Red Sox and Athletics continue their three-game series at Fenway Park on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.