3 Stars of the Games: Games 95-96



Ryan MacLeod
Contributing Writer

The Red Sox started off the 3 game series in Oakland with a win, extending their winning streak to 4 days and then ruined that streak the next night. After splitting the first two games of the series the Sox will look to win the final game of the first half of the season, the rubber match against the A's.
Game 95:
Star 3: Brock Holt
Holt continues to play well at 3rd, making the most of his oppertunity in the majors this season. Holt went 1-3 with 2 RBI's. Holt started off the offense with a 2 run single in the second inning then advanced to second on the throw and to third on an error.
Star 2: Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia ended the Sox scoring for the night, with a single scoring 2 in the 8th inning. He went 2-4 with 2 RBI's and increased his total to 55 on the season.
Star 1: John Lackey
Another dominant performance by Lackey helped him improve to 7-6 on the season. This effort may have been the best performance Lackey has had all season. He pitched 7 innings allowing 2 runs and only 3 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 4.

Game 96:
Star 3: Yoenis Cespedes
Cespedes went 2-3 with 1 RBI on a single in the 6th inning. He increased his RBI total to 43 on the year.
Star 2: Derek Norris
Norris started the A's offense in the 5th inning with a solo home run. The home run was the 5th of the season for Norris and his 20th RBI.
Star 1: A.J. Griffin
Griffin shut down the Red Sox offense all night long. He pitched 8 innings allowing 6 hits and 0 runs. He struck out 3 and walked one. He threw 110 pitches, 74 of them were for strikes. He improved to 8-6 on the year.

The Sox are looking for one last win before the all star break. They look to go into the break with at least a 3.5 game lead in the AL East standards. What do you think the key is for the Sox to win the rubber game of the series against the A's. What do you think the key is to win this game, leave your answer in the comments below or on twitter @Ryanthahawaiian.