Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with a home run and Daisuke Matsuzaka threw into the seventh inning, as the Boston Red Sox cooled off the Oakland Athletics with a 2-1 victory in the opener of a three-game series.
Matsuzaka (7-3) pitched 6 2/3 innings, and the only run he gave up came on a home run by Rajai Davis. Overall, the right-hander gave up two hits, walked two and struck out six.
Daniel Bard threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, while Jonathan Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to secure his 21st save and the win for the Red Sox, who had dropped three of four to Texas over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Athletics brought a five-game win streak into Monday's game, their longest of the season, but had that broken as their offense posted three hits.
Ben Sheets (4-9) took the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.