Laureano does it AGAIN with amazing throw

OAKLAND -- The baseball world may have seen the last of Ramón Laureano’s remarkable arm. Because after Tuesday night, no opposition baserunner in his right mind will try to take an extra base on the A’s center fielder.

For the second night in a row, Laureano unleashed a powerful throw to retire Boston’s’ Xander Bogaerts on the basepaths. Laureano’s latest deed resonated more than Monday’s peg to home plate, because this one occurred in the ninth inning and directly preserved Oakland’s 1-0 victory.

The A’s have blanked the Red Sox in consecutive games for the second time in 88 years.

“We’ve seen three throws from him that I don’t know if anybody in the league makes,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin, who included one that Laureano unleashed last season against the Angels. “Given the situation, [Tuesday’s] throw was probably the best throw we’ve seen him make.”

With one out in the ninth, Bogaerts ricocheted a drive off the right-center-field wall that would have been a game-tying home run in many other ballparks.

“We’ve gotta be grateful for the 388 sign,” Laureano jokingly said, referring to the marker that indicates the distance, in feet, of the highest portion of the Coliseum’s right-field wall.

Laureano, who made a powerful throw home on Monday night to retire Bogaerts at home plate on an attempt to score from second base on a single, did it again.

“Again, man,” sighed Bogaerts. “I’m like, 'There’s no way he’ll do that again.'"

This time his one-hop throw beat Bogaerts to third base. The call stood after a replay review.

"I didn’t even see the replay," said Bogaerts. "But I knew right away once I dove into third, I felt [Matt] Chapman hit me before I got to the bag, so I already knew I was out.

"How can he do that two nights in a row? The next time, I won’t run.”

Analyzing the play, Laureano pointed out that he was positioned in “no doubles” mode -- that is, deeper than usual. That helped him track down the ball relatively quickly.

“Good thing it wasn’t that far,” Laureano said.

Laureano, who has a Major League-high 11 outfield assists in 56 games dating back to last season, wasted no time trying to gauge how much force to apply to his throw. “It was one of those plays where the heat of the moment gets you going,” Laureano said. “I just threw it.”

Chapman, whose first-inning homer off Red Sox ace Chris Sale accounted for the game’s lone run, prepared himself for Bogaerts’ approach.

“It made sense for him to try to get to third base with less than two outs,” Chapman said. But, he added, “I’m never betting against Ramon’s arm. He just seems to make incredible throw after incredible throw.”

Laureano reciprocated Chapman’s praise.

“I have to give him a lot of credit for blocking third base,” Laureano said. “Not a lot of third basemen do that stuff. That’s why he’s a Gold Glove [winner].”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora had no problem with Bogaert's decision to test Laureano's arm again.

“I mean, it took a five-star play to get him out at third. Just like [Monday],” Cora said. “The kid is a game-changer. The ball was what, two feet from going out? The guy jumps, goes to the fence, gets to the ball and throws all the way there. You get to third with less than two outs, fly ball, you score. That’s the way the game goes. Right now, nothing is going our way.”

Dissecting his ability to make seemingly impossible throws so regularly, Laureano said, “I threw balls every day since I was 12 years old, 8 years old. I don’t know how to explain it. I just threw it.”

The A’s improved to 10-5 in the last three years against the reigning World Series champions. Starter Mike Fiers yielded five hits in six innings before closer Blake Treinen recorded his third save in as many opportunities.