OAKLAND -- It took four full innings before Boston's ongoing demolition of Oakland pitching commenced, as the Red Sox routed the A's, 16-2, and pulled within a game of the Blue Jays in the American League East on Friday night at the Coliseum.
Boston tied its season high in runs and has scored 56 in four games against the A's this season. Tied at 2-2 entering the top of the fifth, the Red Sox scored a combined 10 runs and sent 17 batters to the plate in the fifth and sixth innings. Travis Shaw capped the surge with a towering three-run homer to right field in the sixth, making it 12-2.