Boston's lineup is banged up in the middle infield and at third, with Curtis Mead, Marcelo Mayer, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all sidelined, so whoever's filling those gaps has to hold up against an A's staff that's found something in Lopez. The price still says Boston's the play, even with the injury list this long.
It's easy to forget the Red Sox opened this season 10-17 and cost Alex Cora his job. Interim manager Chad Tracy has since overseen a 20-2 stretch that included a 15-game winning streak, tying the franchise record set 80 years ago, and Boston's pitching-first offseason plan — headlined by adding arms like Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez — has the club allowing fewer runs than anyone else in the league. Preseason MVP pick Roman Anthony never got going before a finger injury shelved him, but Ceddanne Rafaela has filled the void, hitting a grand slam in Boston's 4-2 win over Oakland two nights ago.
The Athletics are what they've been most of the year: a young, developing roster playing out the string in a minor-league-sized ballpark while the Vegas move looms. Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom, who just signed a 7-year extension, are the pieces worth building around, but Brent Rooker is done for the year after knee surgery, and the bullpen is thin with Mark Leiter Jr. also out for the season. Beating Boston Tuesday night was a nice moment. Doing it again with a diminished pen is another matter.