The A's dropped the Sox 4-2 to take the final game of the three-game series, sending the Sox to 11-13.
Brandon McCarthy got the win on a fine performance. The Sox really didn't do anything notable off him until the 7th when they chased him from the game. Marlon Byrd drove in Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a sac fly, and then three batters later Adrian Gonzalez had a chance to take the lead, but struck out to end the inning. Gonzalez punched his bat to the ground, an act as rare as JD Drew cracking a smile.
The Sox managed to put up another run, but Gonzalez grounded out again in the 9th with a man on. Adrian is now 0 for his last 17. Things will turn around for him eventually, but it's getting tough to watch.
On the other hand, David Ortiz continues to rake. Papi had two more doubles tonight, including one that could have been a triple had Papi not thought it was out of the park and actually been trying to run. (Then again, it could have been an out had Josh Reddick not thought it was out and made more of an effort to make a play on the ball.) Ortiz is now slugging .707 on the year.
The brightest points of the game were from today's call-ups: Clayton Mortensen -- the return for Marco Scutaro -- pitched three solid innings, striking out six Athletics; Daniel Bard had just one K in 5 1/3. And top prospect Will Middlebrooks went 2-for-3 with a walk. One of his hits was a dribbler, but one was a nicely placed line drive to right field on a pitch on the outer part of the plate. A good start for what should be a good player.
