Tanner Houck, Red Sox win series with shutout of A's

Masataka Yoshida went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs while Tanner Houck threw six dominant innings as the Boston Red Sox blew past the visiting Oakland Athletics 7-0 on Thursday.

Yoshida hit a two-run single in the first inning and a two-run homer in the sixth, helping Boston win the three-game series and its eighth of the last 10 games.

Connor Wong (2-for-3, RBI, three runs) and Wilyer Abreu (3-for-4, two RBI) also homered for the Red Sox.

Houck (8-6) struck out six across six innings of two-hit ball in his final start before making his first All-Star appearance.

All four of Oakland's hits were singles. Boston had 10 hits.

The Red Sox jumped right out for a three-run first inning, forcing Oakland starter Luis Medina (2-4) to labor through 34 pitches. All of the runs came with two outs.

A leadoff walk to Jarren Duran and David Hamilton's line double to right set the table for the hosts' opening rally, which saw Yoshida mark the scoreboard on a bases-loaded, two-run single through the right side. Abreu followed with another liner to right for a double, increasing the score to 3-0.

Houck rolled through the following frame on just 11 pitches and continued setting the tone for a dominant outing. The Boston righty didn't allow a hit until Kyle McCann's one-out grounder to left in the fifth.

Before that, shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela made a highlight-worthy play deep in the hole to end the fourth, taking away a likely base hit from Zack Gelof.

The Red Sox offense padded their lead with single runs in the third and fourth on Wong and Abreu's respective homers. Wong towered his two-out solo shot over the Green Monster in the third, while Abreu's cleared the center field fence to lead off the next frame.

Kyle Muller relieved Medina after Wong's leadoff single in the sixth and Yoshida immediately greeted him with a two-run homer over the right-center field bullpens.

Medina gave up six runs on seven hits in five-plus innings, striking out seven and walking two.

Chase Anderson recorded a three-inning save in relief of Houck, striking out four while allowing just two base hits. It was his third save of the season.

--Field Level Media