None of that has stopped Boston from taking the first two of this set, and Chad Tracy's fingerprints are all over the turnaround. The interim skipper took over a team scuffling in April and has this club playing meaningful ball into the stretch run, buzz about a permanent title following him around the whole way.
Say what you want about the record, but the A's have had their moments even in a lost season — the offense can still erupt out of nowhere, as an 11-run outburst against Minnesota a week ago showed. That's part of the appeal of catching them at home: Sacramento hasn't been an automatic win for anybody, and this same Red Sox team already dropped one game in this series. Boston, for its part, is dealing with a lineup missing Triston Casas, Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and both middle infielders in Marcelo Mayer and Curtis Mead — that's a lot of talent watching from the training room for a team clawing at a playoff spot.
Boston's found a way to win with a M*A*S*H unit for a lineup, which says plenty about the pitching and the vibe Tracy has built in that clubhouse. A's manager Mark Kotsay is playing a longer game entirely, developing what's left of his young core before the eventual Vegas move, and nights like this one are about individual building blocks — Kurtz's timing, Barnett's next step — more than the standings. Boston just wants the series in the books and to keep rolling into August.