BOSTON – Sean Manaea breathed a sigh of relief when he escaped the first inning against the Boston Red Sox unscathed on Tuesday after allowing back-to-back singles to open the night.
Manaea, who entered his second career start at Fenway Park with a 5.96 ERA in the first two innings this season, got Mookie Betts to bounce into a double play and then Hanley Ramirez to fly out to center to end the early threat.
Trouble was, the 25-year-old southpaw wasn’t able to duplicate the Houdini act in the second inning of the A’s 11-1 loss.
Six of Boston’s first eight batters of the second recorded hits, with Betts delivering the big blow in the form of a two-run triple to right center.