OAKLAND, Calif. — There were so many Red Sox fans in the crowd of 30,045 at Oakland Coliseum on Saturday night that Aaron Hill was actually booed when he pinch hit for David Ortiz in the eighth inning.
Don’t get greedy, West Coasters. Ortiz had two doubles and drove in two runs as the Red Sox thumped the Oakland Athletics again, 11-2.
Rick Porcello went seven strong innings to become the first 19-game winner in the majors this season. Yoan Moncada had his first two major league hits and drove in a run.
The 76-59 Sox have won three straight and four of five. With Toronto losing at Tampa Bay, they are tied for first place in the American League East with 27 games to play.
The Sox have won nine consecutive games against Oakland. They have scored 67 runs on 82 hits — 33 for extra bases — in the five games this season.
Porcello (19-3) lost a perfect game in the sixth inning. He settled for giving up two runs on four hits over seven. He struck out two without a walk, efficiently pitching to contact after his teammates built a big lead early in the game.
Porcello, who should have four or five starts left, is the first Red Sox pitcher to win 19 games since Jon Lester in 2010. The last 20-game winner was Josh Beckett in 2007. No Red Sox pitcher has won more than 20 games since Curt Schilling was 21-6 in 2004.
In his last eight starts, Porcello is 6-1 with a 2.52 earned run average.
A day after they scored 16 runs, the Sox had a 9-0 lead by the third inning.
Dustin Pedroia started the game with a single to right field. He went to third when Ortiz doubled and they both scored when Mookie Betts doubled to the gap in left.
That gave Betts 100 RBIs. He joined Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players with at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs in a season before turning 24. Williams, naturally, did it twice.
The Sox sent 11 batters to the plate in the third inning. Eight of them reached base and seven scored, all after Oakland starter Daniel Mengden got the first two outs.
Hanley Ramirez started it with a home run that sailed deep into the stands in left field. He has 20, one more than last season.
Sandy Leon followed with a double and Chris Young walked. Moncada made his first hit count, a double down the line in left. Leon scored and Young followed when left fielder Khris Davis kicked the ball around and was charged with an error.
Moncada scored when Jackie Bradley Jr. singled to center. That was it for Mengden, a rookie recalled from Triple A Nashville earlier in the day.
Facing John Axford, Pedroia singled, as did Xander Bogaerts. That scored Bradley. Ortiz then doubled to center and two more runs scored.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the inning was that Betts made two outs.
The question at that point became whether Porcello might throw a perfect game or no-hitter against a lineup of largely anonymous Athletics.
He retired the first 15 batters on only 60 pitches and received help from his defense.
Bradley made a leaping catch at the warning track to take extra bases away from Stephen Vogt and end the third inning. Young then chased down a foul ball in the fifth inning with a Spiderman catch up against the wall in left field.
Porcello got the first out of the sixth inning but Jake Smolinski lined a double just over Young’s glove to end the drama before it could really build. Bruce Maxwell followed with an RBI single and the Athletics had avoided much ignominy.
Oakland scored again in the seventh inning when Yonder Alonso drove a ball off the wall in right field with a runner on second. Further trouble was avoided when Betts threw Alonso out at second. It was his 12th outfield assist, matching Bradley for the team lead.
The Sox have won nine of their last 13 games on the road. They will try for a six-game season sweep of the Athletics on Sunday afternoon with Eduardo Rodriguez facing Kendall Graveman.
Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.
