Oakland Athletics vs Boston Red Sox Box Score on May 12, 2021

James Kaprielian pitched out of a pair of jams to win his first major league start as the Oakland Athletics downed the host Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Matt Olson homered for the Athletics, who will look to complete a three-game sweep Thursday. Oakland has won four of five.

Marwin Gonzalez slugged a pair of doubles for the Red Sox, who were held to five hits. Boston has dropped three straight for the first time since beginning the season 0-3.

The Red Sox had runners on second and third with one out in the eighth inning but Christian Vazquez hit into a 3-2-4-3 double play, with Xander Bogaerts thrown out at home. Jake Diekman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.

Kaprielian, a 2015 first-round pick who made his major league debut out of the bullpen last season, was on the ropes early, loading the bases with no outs in the first. He struck out Bogaerts and got Rafael Devers to pop out before walking in a run.

Kaprielian punched out Hunter Renfroe to end the threat.

The Athletics knotted the score on an RBI double by Sean Murphy in the second and pulled ahead 3-1 in the fifth when Jed Lowrie grounded in a run and Elvis Andrus scored on a balk by Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kaprielian created another jam when his throw to second trying to start a double play sailed into center to put runners on the corners with no outs. He got J.D. Martinez to hit a trickler that allowed him to get Gonzalez out at home before whiffing Bogaerts and Devers to end his night.

Kaprielian (1-0) allowed one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out six.

Olson's blast leading off the sixth put the Athletics up 4-1.

Rodriguez (5-1) surrendered four runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. He punched out a season-high nine.

Renfroe made a highlight-reel play defensively in right, throwing out Matt Chapman attempting to turn a double into a triple on a one-hopper in the second.

--Field Level Media