Oakland keeps Red Sox at bay

The Sox tied a season high by leaving 13 men on base. They left the bases loaded with no outs in the fourth inning and with one out in the seventh.

''We just couldn't get one big hit to get ourselves the lead," manager Terry Francona said.

Lefthanded reliever Mike Myers, 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 4 2/3 innings coming in, took the loss. Eric Chavez singled off Myers to begin the eighth, and Erubiel Durazo followed with a shot up the middle. Myers showed superb reflexes to knock the ball down as the bat, broken in three pieces, sprayed in his direction. But the ball skipped off Myers's glove, and when he got to it, he was too rushed to make a good throw to first.

Timlin came in, and, after a sacrifice and an intentional walk, Watson delivered the winning hit.

Mark Bellhorn had given the Sox a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the second inning, scoring Trot Nixon (single) and Kevin Youkilis (walk).

Depending upon your perspective, Oakland starter Kirk Saarloos either worked expertly out of a major jam in the fourth inning, or the Sox failed to deliver in a situation in which it's fairly difficult not to score. Boston loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Jason Varitek, Youkilis, and Bill Mueller.

Bellhorn, behind 0-and-2, worked the count full and fouled off a total of five pitches before fanning on a breaking ball. Johnny Damon also whiffed, with a bad swing at a breaking ball. Edgar Renteria then flied to center, leaving the bases loaded.

The A's roughed up Sox starter Bronson Arroyo in the fifth for as many earned runs (four) as he'd allowed in his previous three starts combined. Oakland batted around, beginning with a laced Scott Hatteberg grounder that evaded Mueller. Watson followed with a lined double to the warning track in center field that Damon misjudged. After recording an out, Arroyo hit the No. 9 hitter, Charles Thomas, with a curveball -- one of two batters he would hit in the inning -- to load the bases.

''I hit him in the knee with a breaking ball," Arroyo said. ''That put me in a bad position."