4/23/13: Oakland A's Quick Recap and Look Ahead

The Oakland A's stopped the bleeding caused by a four-game losing streak by hammering the Boston Red Sox 13-0 at Fenway Park in a rain-shortened seven inning game.

Bartolo Colon (3-0) pitched all seven shutout innings and gave up only three hits, as the A's improved to 13-8 on the young season.

Former Red Sox Brandon Moss and Coco Crisp led the way for the A's, going a combined 5-for-8 while plating two runs each. Moss had three hits and Crisp had two, respectively. A's catcher John Jaso also had a day as well, going 3-for-4 and knocking in two runs of his own.

A's designated hitter Seth Smith hit his second home run of the year, with one on and one out in the top of the fourth inning.

Alfredo Aceves (1-1) lasted just 3.1 innings, giving up seven runs off seven hits.

The A's had 13 runs and 13 hits, taking advantage of the eight walks and two balks by Red Sox pitchers.

Tomorrow's game against Boston, which takes place at 1:05 p.m. ET, will end a six-game road trip for Oakland. The team looks to win this series with a struggling Brett Anderson (1-3, 5.95) taking the mound against a red-hot Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73).

Celebrating Greatness

The Green and Gold return home on Thursday to start a four-game set with the Baltimore Orioles. The A's will be honoring the 1973 World Championship team on Thursday and Friday, and the celebration will feature appearances by players such as the 1973 World Series Most Valuable Player and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, just to name a couple.

Notes

The A's' 13-8 record is good enough for second place in the American League West. They trail the Texas Rangers by a half game.

Things seem fine for Oakland on the surface, but let's keep in mind that six of the A's' wins in 2013 have come against the 5-14 Houston Astros. The remaining six wins before tonight's victory have come via the 8-13 Seattle Mariners (two wins), the underachieving Los Angeles Angels (three wins) and a win at home against the Tigers in which they lost the series.

You have to play the teams on the schedule—the team can't help that—but A's fans should hope this 21-game sample size isn't a snapshot of what's in store down the road.