A’s squander chances in 1-0 loss

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesAnother day, another zero.

Despite Ross Stripling’s best efforts, the Oakland Athletics were beaten once again and swept by the Boston Red Sox. Stripling spun 7 strong inning of one-run ball for the A’s, the best they could hope for from the 34-year-old righty, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offense’s lack of execution.

To their credit, the offense did muster 8 hits and 3 walks, so they got enough players on base to score some runs. But every time they were in position to strike, no one was around to deliver the punch. The most brutal example was in the bottom of the 5th inning when the Tyler Nevin, Nick Allen, and Ryan Noda delivered a trio of singles,…