BOSTON -- Daric Barton didnt bat and barely got on the field. He still made the game-saving play. Yoenis Cespedes drove in the go-ahead run on an infield single with the bases loaded in the 10th and Barton, playing first, cut down the potential tying run at third in the bottom of the inning as the Athletics averted a three-game sweep with a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday. "He made a terrific play," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Thats a gutsy play. Thats a play that if the runner gets over, they can win the game with a hit. A gutsy play." Bostons Will Middlebrooks opened the inning with a single and advanced to second on the hit when centre fielder Coco Crisp had the ball bounce away for an error. With Barton playing in, guarding for a bunt, Jackie Bradley Jr. bounced it to first. Barton fired to third, cutting down Middlebrooks. "My whole goal was obviously to get the guy at third whether it was a bunt or a ground ball to me," Barton said. "It feels good. Ive learned to be ready. Anything can happen at any time, but Ive learned to be ready when they call my name and go out there and do my job." Barton came in when Josh Reddick left with a sprained ankle in the ninth. Jim Johnson (3-2) then got Dustin Pedroia to bounce into a game-ending double play. Middlebrooks was somewhat surprised and impressed by the play. "I was breaking off the bat. I didnt know it was to his right, to his left or right at him. Unfortunately it was right at him," he said. "This is the big leagues. People are supposed to make plays like that. Normally you dont see a first baseman that far in, but he made a good play. Hats off to him." Oakland closed a 10-game road trip 5-5 and avoided its second three-game sweep in its last four series. The Athletics were swept at home by Texas April 21-23. "Barton makes a heck of a heads-up play to cut down Will going to third," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Theyre playing in. Hes got to trust in his abilities. He throws a strike across the diamond to cut down Will." A.J. Pierzynski hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who failed to reach .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season. Jed Lowrie had a two-out double off Chris Capuano (1-1) and after the bases were loaded with an intentional and regular walk, Cespedes beat out a slow roller to third against reliever Burke Badenhop. Johnson also got a double-play grounder by Jonny Gomes to end the ninth. With the Red Sox trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Pierzynski homered into Bostons bullpen. It could have been worse for the Athletics when right fielder Reddick had trouble with pinch hitter Gomes fly ball in the wind. He was charged with an error, allowing runners to reach second and third with one out. But reliever Fernando Abad got Bradley Jr. out at first on his attempted safety squeeze and Luke Gregerson retired Pedroia. Boston starter John Lackey gave up two runs on five hits in six innings, walking three and striking out four. Oaklands Sonny Gray also pitched six, giving up two runs and six hits, walking two with three strikeouts. Cespedes gave Oakland a 2-1 edge in the sixth with an RBI double off the Green Monster. The Athletics grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on Brandon Moss two-out RBI single. Grady Sizemores RBI double tied it in the fifth, but Gray escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam when Bradley bounced into a 1-2-3 double play. In the third, Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts relay from shallow left cut down Donaldson trying to score. Crew chief Jeff Kellogg requested a replay review to see if catcher Pierzynski was illegally blocking the plate. Replays showed he moved his foot and blocked the corner just before he caught the throw, knocking Donaldsons foot away as it attempted to reach home. The play was upheld. Melvin challenged a call on the first pitch of the game -- when Crisp was called out on a 5-6-3 grounder. Replays were ruled inconclusive. NOTES: Reddick limped off after grounding into a DP. ... Boston DH David Ortiz played in his 1,999th career game. ... The Athletics open a 10-game homestand Monday when left-hander Scott Kazmir (4-0, 2.11 ERA) faces Seattle right-hander Chris Young (1-0, 3.04). ... The Red Sox are off Monday before beginning a two-game series on Tuesday against Cincinnati when lefty Felix Doubront (1-3, 5.70) goes against the Reds Homer Bailey (2-2, 5.50). ... Sizemore went 2 for 2 before being pinch hit for, raising his career average to .321 (59 of 184) against the As, his best against any AL team. Cheap Jordans Online Canada . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford. Jordan Shoes Canada Sale .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. http://www.wholesaleairjordancanada.com/ . With nothing tangible at stake, the Raptors turned in their most impressive outing of the fall in their seventh and second to last exhibition tilt against their stiffest competition yet, but they lost a couple starters in the process. Wholesale Air Jordan Canada . -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. Air Jordan For Sale Canada . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain.Each round of the playoffs, I like to forecast the round simply by using shots on goal and goaltender save percentage to come up with a baseline for the series. It offers no assurances and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. Last year, this method forecasted the first round at a 7-1 clip; this year it was 5-3, with losses on Columbus, Colorado and San Jose. In the first two cases, their strong goaltending led to a calculated advantage, but it can be difficult for goaltending superiority to take effect over much larger samples, let alone seven games. As for the Sharks, they were in a virtual toss-up situation with the Kings, favoured by the smallest of margins. The expected goals for each team in the series are determined by taking each teams shots for and against over the course of the season, as well as through the first round of the playoffs, and splitting the difference. So, for example, Boston had 32.1 shots on goal per game and Montreal has allowed 28.6 shots on goal per game; the average of those two numbers, 30.35 shots, is the number that is then multiplied by (1 - the opposing goaltenders save percentage) to determine an expected goals per game for the Bruins. Finally, the number is multiplied by seven to indicate an expected goal total for a seven-game series. Theres no guarantee that scoring more goals in a series will result in winning four games first, but the odds certainly favour the team that scores more. So, lets see how the numbers shake out for Round Two: Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Boston 32.1 29.3 Tuukka Rask 0.933 15.93 Montreal 30.9 28.6 Carey Price 0.925 14.12 Verdict: The Bruins are favoured, with a slightly better shot differential and slightly better goaltending, and its simple enough that way. But when the Habs and Bruins meet in the playoffs, strange things can happen. Higher-seeded Canadiens teams have been bounced by lower-seeded Bruins teams and vice versa. Between these two incarnations of the Canadiens and Bruins is a wonderful contrast in styles as the Bruins are more physically-imposing while the Canadiens are a smaller, skilled group. While some teams (including the Red Wings in Round One) avoid getting into confrontations with the Bruins, the Canadiens havent always taken that approach, and it not only makes for entertaining hockey, it adds some variability to the process. Furthermore, if the Canadiens can keep Tuukka Rask off his game (his .908 save percentage vs. Montreal is his lowest vs. teams that hes faced at least 10 times in his career), then that could help close the calculated gap between the teams. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Pittsburgh 30.4 29.1 Marc-Andre Fleury 0.915 16.66 N.Y. Rangers 33.1 29.1 Henrik Lundqvist 0.920 18.50 Verdict: The Penguins were forecasted to lose -- or, more accurately, score fewer goals -- against Columbus, but here they are in the second round, looking at a similar forecast, against a team with a better shot differential and better goaltending. The Penguins are healthier than theyve been for most of the season, which helps, and they have elite forwards that can shake results. The Rangers could control play and it wouldnt take a Henrik Lundqvist collapse to see the Penguins get through.dddddddddddd All it might take is Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going off for a few games. Heck, they managed to get past Columbus with contributions from a lot more than Crosby and Malkin. Defencemen Paul Martin and Matt Niskanen led the Penguins with eight points, Brandon Sutter added five and Beau Bennett chipped in four. In my playoff picks, I had the Penguins going past the Rangers and its on the expectation that, at some point, the Penguins elite players will bury more of their chances, though that also requires some faith in Marc-Andre Fleury and that hasnt been a safe feeling for the Penguins in the playoffs for quite some time. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Anaheim 31.0 28.8 Frederik Andersen 0.918 17.26 Los Angeles 31.6 27.0 Jonathan Quick 0.915 17.33 Anaheim 31.0 28.8 Jonas Hiller 0.912 17.26 Los Angeles 31.6 27.0 Jonathan Quick 0.915 18.60 Verdict: I presume that the Ducks are going back to rookie Frederik Andersen, even after he was pulled twice against Dallas in the first round (but I included calculations for Hiller anyway). This is another really close series in which the Kings get slightly favoured because they have superior shot differential. The Ducks have exceeded more advanced possession metrics all year, in part because they have been insanely fortunate when it comes to shooting in close games. Oh, and here too. That isnt the kind of thing that seems possible to repeat over time but, it worked enough to take down Dallas in the first round, so it wouldnt come as a shock if they can do it against Los Angeles. Team SF SA Goaltender SV% Expected GF/Series Chicago 32.9 27.8 Corey Crawford 0.919 18.15 Minnesota 27.2 27.4 Darcy Kuemper 0.914 15.59 Chicago 32.9 27.8 Corey Crawford 0.919 20.05 Minnesota 27.2 27.4 Ilya Bryzgalov 0.905 15.59 Verdict: Again, a presumption that the Wild will have Darcy Kuemper to start the series, despite leaving Game Seven against Colorado with an injury. If the Wild are really rolling with Ilya Bryzgalov, then the forecast will be unfavourable, just as it was in the first round, but if Kuemper is in, he offers a slightly better chance. No matter who is in net for the Wild, though, they will have their hands full, because they are facing a team that generates a whole lot more shots than their opponents. So long as Corey Crawford is decent, and there arent any major injuries, then the Blackhawks will warrant their status as prohibitive favourites. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. 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