Athletics at Boston Red Sox

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	2
BOS	0	5	0	4	0	2	2	0	—	13	15	0

Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.30 ERA) gets the ball for Boston looking to keep the good times rolling, and he's coming off a clean 6 innings against the Dodgers where he struck out 7 and allowed just 2 earned runs. Across the diamond, Jack Perkins (2-7, 6.72 ERA) takes the mound for Oakland after a rough last time out against Detroit — 5.1 innings, 6 earned runs, though he did miss plenty of bats with 9 strikeouts before it all fell apart.

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ML

Total

Athletics(45-70)

LLLLL

1

+1.5+117+257o8.5+106

Red Sox(63-51)

WWWWW

13

-1.5-122-257u8.5-104

Best BetRed Sox -280

Pregame

Boston's price here is steep, but it's earned — this is a team that's won 5 straight and been the best club in the sport for over a month. Oakland's lineup is missing three key bats and has dropped 5 in a row, making an outright upset a tough sell even at plus money. Lay the number and back the streak.

Tolle's stuff has quietly given Boston length all year, which matters with the rotation as banged up as it's been — Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo and Kutter Crawford are all on the 60-day IL, so every clean start from a healthy arm is a small mercy. The lineup, meanwhile, just got its returning catcher: Adley Rutschman arrived in the trade that shipped out Carlos Narvaez, even if he's currently working back from a wrist issue. Oakland's situation is starker — Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Zack Gelof are all out, gutting the middle of a lineup that already can't find runs.

Jack Perkins

(2-9)·6.96 ERA

Aug 1 vs Tigers

L

5.1IP

6ER

9K

1BB

91P

08/07 Lineup

Payton Tolle

(8-6)·3.08 ERA

Aug 1 @ Dodgers

ND

6.0IP

2ER

7K

2BB

88P

08/07 Lineup

None of that is a surprise to the betting market, which has installed Boston as a heavy favorite here. The Red Sox price reflects a team that's been the best in baseball for weeks now, while Oakland's number reflects a club still searching for answers in the AL West basement.

Athletics

(45-70)

Aug 6L@ Reds5-6

Aug 5L@ Reds2-3

Aug 4L@ Reds4-5

Aug 2Lvs Tigers0-11

Aug 2Lvs Tigers6-8

Boston Red Sox

(63-51)

Aug 6Wvs White Sox12-11

Aug 5Wvs White Sox4-0

Aug 4Wvs White Sox14-2

Aug 2W@ Dodgers8-4

Aug 2W@ Dodgers3-2

The gap between these two right now isn't close. Boston has won 5 straight and, according to MLB.com, has taken 25 of its last 28 games under interim manager Chad Tracy — a run that's turned a fired-Alex-Cora disaster into legitimate playoff buzz. The Sox just finished stomping the White Sox by a combined score of 30-13 across 3 games, capped by a wild 12-11 slugfest. Oakland is the mirror image: 5 straight losses, and per Athletics Nation, the worst record in the sport since June 30 at 5-22. Manager Mark Kotsay has openly pointed to control problems and blown leads as the culprit, and Friday's lineup card does him no favors.

Athletics

(12)

• 10-Day-ILZack Gelof (3B) — Gelof (knee) started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run with Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday.08/05
• 10-Day-ILNick Kurtz (1B) — The Athletics placed Kurtz on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Aug. 1, due to a strained right thumb.08/04
• 10-Day-ILShea Langeliers (C) — The Athletics announced that Langeliers underwent a successful medial meniscectomy Tuesday in Los Angeles and also received a platelet-rich plasma injection for his right knee, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.07/28
• 10-Day-ILJoshua Kuroda-Grauer (3B) — Kuroda-Grauer was diagnosed with a testicular contusion after exiting Monday's 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.07/21
• 15-Day-ILJeffrey Springs (SP) — Springs (hip) was able to restart a throwing program Wednesday after landing on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, MLB.com reports.08/06
• 15-Day-ILJustin Sterner (RP) — Sterner earned his first save of the season in Wednesday's extra-inning win over the Cubs. He tossed a perfect inning while striking out one.07/18
• 60-Day-ILMark Leiter Jr. (RP) — Leiter will undergo surgery Tuesday to address a right hip impingement and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.07/30
• 60-Day-ILLuis Severino (SP) — Severino (shoulder) began a throwing progression Saturday, per MLB.com.07/28
• 60-Day-ILDenzel Clarke (CF) — Manager Mark Kotsay said Saturday that Clarke (hamstring) is nearing a rehab assignment, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILBrent Rooker (DH) — Rooker will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — Kriske (shoulder) began a throwing progression Thursday, MLB.com reports.06/16
• 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20

Boston Red Sox

(12)

• Day-To-DayWillson Contreras (1B) — Contreras (illness) is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the White Sox.08/06
• 10-Day-ILAdley Rutschman (C) — The Red Sox acquired Rutschman (wrist), Jake Rogers and cash from the Orioles on Monday in exchange for catcher Carlos Narvaez, right-handers Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, outfielder Enddy Azocar and a player to be named later, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.08/03
• 10-Day-ILCurtis Mead (3B) — Mead has a nondisplaced left wrist fracture and will be reimaged in four weeks, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 10-Day-ILIsiah Kiner-Falefa (2B) — Kiner-Falefa (forearm) has been cleared to start his hitting progression with dry swings, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILTriston Casas (1B) — Casas (abdomen/knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist Thursday.08/06
• 60-Day-ILTrevor Story (SS) — Story (sports hernia) will be re-evaluated at the end of the team's current homestand to determine when he can begin a rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.08/06
• 60-Day-ILRoman Anthony (LF) — Anthony (wrist) took overhand pitching in the batting cage Tuesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.08/05
• 60-Day-ILGarrett Crochet (SP) — Interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said Tuesday that Crochet (lat/shoulder) has resumed throwing from 50-to-60 feet on flat ground, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.08/04
• 60-Day-ILZack Kelly (RP) — The Red Sox recalled Kelly (elbow) from Triple-A Worcester and placed him on the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.07/21
• 60-Day-ILTanner Houck (SP) — Houck (elbow) has started throwing two bullpen sessions per week, MLB.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILJohan Oviedo (SP) — Oviedo (elbow) will throw a bullpen session next week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILKutter Crawford (SP) — The Red Sox announced June 29 that Crawford (forearm) has been throwing plyometric balls during workouts at the team's spring training facility in Florida, MLB.com reports.07/06

Fenway in August with a hot team and 86-degree, partly cloudy skies is about as good as it gets for a Friday night ballgame — even if the outcome feels like it's already been decided by the standings. Oakland's only real hope is that Perkins' strikeout stuff shows up before the walks and the barrels do, because right now this roster has nothing else to lean on.