Game Preview: Red Sox At Athletics

(AP) - The Oakland Athletics avoided their woes in close games with a blowout to even this three-game series.

They may like their chances of improving upon baseball's worst record in day games with Sonny Gray taking the mound in the finale.

Gray can improve to 5-0 in Wednesday's home matchup with the Boston Red Sox, who will counter by starting the struggling Wade Miley.

Oakland (13-22) ended its longest losing streak in three years at six games with Tuesday's 9-2 rout. The Athletics lost four times in their slide by one run, falling to 1-11 in such games.

"Now the trick is to get a couple in a row and now you start feeling good about yourself, and the confidence comes out and the talent level that we have," manager Bob Melvin said. "But we have to put it together. We haven't been very good about that this year."

Now the club looks to capture a home series for the first time by improving to 2-10 in day games behind Gray (4-0, 1.65 ERA), who only gets stronger as the game goes longer. His ERA in the first three innings is 3.43 before it dips to 0.32 from the fourth inning on.

The right-hander's latest effort was wasted as he allowed one run in six innings Friday in a 4-3 loss at Seattle. He has 19 strikeouts in his last two outings.

Gray's lone start against Boston (15-18) was in a 3-2, 10-inning victory May 14, 2014. He allowed two runs in six-plus innings, and no Red Sox hitter has more than three at-bats against him.

Oakland is 1-5 against lefty starters, though it should like its chances of doubling that win total in its first look at Miley (1-4, 6.91).

The left-hander has posted a 7.63 ERA while losing three straight outings, yielding four runs over six innings in Friday's 7-0 defeat at Toronto. He struck out a season-high eight.

"It's always difficult when you go through a stretch like this," Miley said.

Though he hasn't faced Oakland, Miley has experience against some of its hitters. Ike Davis is 0 for 6 against him and Billy Butler is 2 for 5 with a homer.

Davis could return to the lineup after sitting out Tuesday with a strained left quadriceps muscle.

The A's built an 8-0 lead after four innings. Josh Reddick had four hits with a homer and three RBIs and Stephen Vogt also went deep and raised the AL's second-best OPS to 1.093.

Oakland has 25 hits in this series, but none from Coco Crisp. The outfielder is 0 for 25 this season and has no hits in his past 38 regular-season at-bats - tied for the second-longest hitless stretch in Oakland history to Jose Canseco's 40 at-bat drought in 1986.

The Red Sox may want to hit the ball to A's shortstop Marcus Semien, who has five of his major league-high 11 errors in his last four games. Oakland has at least one error in 10 straight and has the most in baseball with 35.

Semien is clearly in the lineup for his bat, going 9 for 18 with three solo homers in his last four games.

Boston's Dustin Pedroia has reached base in his last 17 games with a .317 average in that span. He's batting .375 over his past 12 games in Oakland.

Updated May 13, 2015