Pivetta continues Oakland dominance as Red Sox sweep

OAKLAND -- For Nick Pivetta, the “O” in Oakland actually stands for the number of runs he allows every time he pitches at the Coliseum.

Boston’s righty fired five scoreless innings in Wednesday’s matinee, leading the Red Sox to a 1-0 victory over the Athletics.

It was the fourth time (third start) Pivetta has pitched in Oakland, and he increased his scoreless run at the Coliseum to 25 innings.

“Yeah, I've had a lot of success here,” said Pivetta. “I definitely enjoy the extra foul territory. I definitely enjoy the mound.”

In fact, Pivetta has performed well home and away against the A’s, running his record to 6-0 and lowering his ERA to 0.71 against them in six career appearances.

That said, Pivetta admitted he had far from his best stuff, calling the day “a grind.” And it’s fitting because that’s what the day was for the Red Sox, who made several misplays on defense.

And aside from Jarren Duran (4-for-4 on Wednesday and 9-for-12 in Boston’s three-game sweep), it wasn’t much of a day for the bats.

But it was a win -- the fourth in a row for the Red Sox, as manager Alex Cora’s team improved to 5-2 heading into Thursday’s off-day and a three-game series in Anaheim that starts Friday.

“Yeah, we didn't play well,” said Cora. “Defensively we were bad and we ended up winning the game, which is the most important thing. The guys kept grinding. We hit a lot of ground balls, a lot of non-competitive at-bats and all that, and we didn't play good defense. We pitched well enough and we ended up winning.”

On a day Pivetta had a minimal amount of run support, standout rookie defender Ceddanne Rafaela made another tremendous play.

This time, on a drive by Brent Rooker with two outs in the fourth, Rafaela roamed back to the wall, timed his jump perfectly and took away an extra-base hit that would have tied the game. Instead, Pivetta ran back to the dugout with the lead still intact.

“Gold Glove,” said Cora, when asked about Rafaela’s ceiling. “I mean, he’s good. He has good instincts. He has a great arm. He moves well. I think that's what he's shooting for, and hopefully he can get it, but it’s still early.”

An inning later, Pivetta wiggled out of trouble, getting out of bases-loaded, one-out jam with a 6-4-3 double play. That was Pivetta’s 90th and final pitch of the day, and he roared back to the dugout with a show of emotion.

“Too much. Too much at times,” Pivetta said of his reaction. “But I just care about my teammates and I care about this game a lot and I never take anything for granted.”

Pitching, the clear weakness of the 2023 Red Sox, has been the overwhelming strength on this season-opening road trip. Boston’s ERA is 1.54, the best in the Majors.

For Cora, as he said in the early stages of Spring Training, the key number he is looking for is five innings or more from the starters. Pivetta made Boston 7-for-7 this season in reaching that number on Wednesday.

Cora elaborated on why that is so important.

“We always talk about the bullpen and all that, and, yeah, that’s great,” Cora said. “The bullpen is great in October. You can be creative and use guys in different spots. For us to win series, to win the week, and keep going, they’ve got to go five, and [Pivetta] did.”

Kenley ties Wagner
On a day closer Kenley Jansen had to battle, working around two walks, he earned career save No. 422, tying him with Billy Wagner for sixth on the all-time list. Wagner came just five votes away from making it into the Hall of Fame in January, and many expect he will be elected next year.

“I think it’s awesome to tie a guy like that,” said Jansen. “He’s one of the greatest who ever did it. Probably the best lefty closer who ever did it.”

With two more saves, Jansen will tie John Franco for fifth place. Next in his sights is Francisco Rodríguez, who notched 437 career saves.

“I think I’m having fun right now. Stay in the moment,” Jansen said. “God blessed me with another day to be in the big leagues. I’m all in. I’m dedicated. We’re going to try to get this team to the promised land. That’s the goal. We’re going to continue to battle.”