Athletics play the Red Sox looking to stop road skid

Aug 7, 2026, 04:01 pm

Athletics (45-70, fourth in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (63-51, third in the AL East)

Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jack Perkins (2-7, 6.72 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 89 strikeouts); Red Sox: Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 110 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -270, Athletics +218; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Athletics will look to break their five-game road slide in a matchup with the Boston Red Sox.

Boston is 63-51 overall and 28-29 at home. Red Sox pitchers have a collective 3.50 ERA, which ranks second in the AL.

The Athletics are 45-70 overall and 24-34 in road games. The Athletics have a 33-17 record in games when they scored five or more runs.

Friday's game is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The Red Sox are up 3-1 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Willson Contreras leads the Red Sox with a .288 batting average, and has 18 doubles, two triples, 23 home runs, 47 walks and 70 RBI. Ceddanne Rafaela is 16 for 44 with five home runs and 13 RBI over the last 10 games.

Jeff McNeil has 13 doubles, four home runs and 35 RBI for the Athletics. Jonah Heim is 10 for 38 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 9-1, .276 batting average, 2.87 ERA, outscored opponents by 31 runs

Athletics: 1-9, .231 batting average, 6.03 ERA, outscored by 32 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Willson Contreras: day-to-day (illness), Roman Anthony: 60-Day IL (wrist), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Adley Rutschman: 10-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Kutter Crawford: 60-Day IL (wrist), Curtis Mead: 10-Day IL (hand), Garrett Crochet: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (abdomen), Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 10-Day IL (forearm), Zack Kelly: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Athletics: Brooks Kriske: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Sterner: 15-Day IL (knee), Denzel Clarke: 60-Day IL (foot), Nick Kurtz: 10-Day IL (thumb), Jeffrey Springs: 15-Day IL (hip), Zack Gelof: 10-Day IL (knee), Mark Leiter Jr.: 60-Day IL (hip), Shea Langeliers: 10-Day IL (knee), Luis Severino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 10-Day IL (testicle), Brent Rooker: 60-Day IL (knee), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (knee)

------

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.