The Red Sox won their first series in a little over a week on Saturday after downing the Oakland Athletics, 8-0 in game two of a three-game set. Nick Pivetta was, again, terrific. The Red Sox hit the Athletics’ starter, Paul Blackburn hard but wound up not needing many of those runs as Pivetta twirled a shutout from the mound.
Still, the offense, even if it wasn’t necessary, was fun to watch. The Sox put good swings on balls and conducted patient appearances at the plate. They didn’t try to do too much and wound up making good contact for base hits that kept the line moving.