On Tuesday, the Oakland Athletics took an early lead, thanks in large part to excellent and aggressive baserunning, against the hometown Boston Red Sox. The A's were able to hold onto that lead and pick up a 5-3 win to even up the three-game series.
The A's got on the board right away, as Jemile Weeks led off the game with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes was able to single him home for a 1-0 A's lead.
The deciding inning was the top of the fourth, when the A's would plate four runs to go up 5-0. Cliff Pennington doubled home Kurt Suzuki, then Jemile Weeks singled home Kila Ka`aihue and Pennington, taking second on the throw to the plate. Weeks then stole third and came home on a wild pitch by starter Felix Doubront.
The Sox got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a groundout RBI by David Ortiz, but Oakland starter Jarrod Parker would keep the score there until he was relieved in the bottom of the seventh. Boston threatened in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring two runs on a Mike Aviles single, but Dustin Pedroia grounded out to end the game with the tying runs on base.
Josh Reddick, Ka`aihue, Weeks and Pennington all stole third base in the game. The A's became just the second team since 1969 to steal third base four times in one game. The 1988 Montreal Expos were the other team to accomplish the feat.
Parker earned his first win of the season with 6.2 innings of four-hit baseball. The A's will try to pick up the series win on Wednesday.
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