Payton Tolle recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts and Jarren Duran homered to help the Boston Red Sox extend their winning streak to nine games by beating the visiting Athletics 13-1 Friday night.
Duran’s home run, his 16th of the season, came against starting pitcher Jack Perkins and ignited a five-run second inning. It was his third home run in the last five games.
Tolle (7-6) didn’t allow a baserunner until Tyler Soderstrom led off the fifth with a home run. It was his 18th homer of the season and cut Boston’s lead to 9-1.
Tolle was pulled after six innings. He allowed one run on two hits and didn’t walk a batter. Raymond Burgos picked up the save by pitching three innings of hitless relief.
Perkins (2-8) gave up five runs on five hits in three innings. He walked three and struck out three. The Athletics have lost their last nine games.
In addition to Duran’s home run, Boston’s five-run second featured back-to-back doubles from Anthony Seigler and Jake Rogers that increased the lead to 3-0 and a two-run double from Wilyer Abreu that drove in Rogers and Nick Sogard to make it 5-0. Abreu collected two of Boston’s 15 hits and drove in three runs.
Boston added four runs in the fourth. After Rogers scored on an errant pickoff throw by Hayden Juenger, the Red Sox received an RBI single from Abreu, an RBI double from Masataka Yoshida and an RBI single by Andruw Monasterio.
Sacrifice flies from Caleb Durbin and Yoshida increased Boston’s lead to 11-1 in the sixth.
It was 12-1 after Rogers scored from second on Ceddanne Rafaela’s infield single in the seventh. Rafaela stretched the lead to 13-1 when he scored on Durbin’s double later in the inning.
The Athletics were limited to two hits in the loss. In addition to Soderstrom’s home run, Max Muncy had an infield single in the sixth.
