Reddick finds a home in Oakland

Ex-Red Sox enjoys playing in Oakland

Josh Reddick watched his seventh-inning grand slam leave the park Friday in Oakland’s 20-2 demolition of the Red Sox.

By Peter Abraham

Globe Staff / September 1, 2012

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Aaron Cook, who gave up six runs in 2⅔ innings Friday night, remains scheduled to face the Mariners on Wednesday. Cook is 1-7 with a 5.67 ERA in his last 10 starts.

Rocky re-entry

Daniel Bard pitched an inning Friday night, allowing a home run by George Kottaras. It was his first major league appearance since June 3. Saturday night, he pitched the seventh inning and gave up a home run to Chris Carter. He struck out two and did not allow a walk.

“I definitely made big steps in the right direction and I just want to continue it for the next month,” Bard said Friday night. “I know I have to prove some things to some people and I’m ready to do that.

“It was good. I felt really comfortable out there. The adrenaline is there. It’s not the eighth inning with a one-run lead, but it’s a lot bigger stage than I’ve been used to last couple of months. I wasn’t quite as sharp as I wanted to be [but] it was great to be out there.”

The Sox plan to use Bard judiciously through the end of the season to try to rebuild his confidence.

Milestone in sight

Dustin Pedroia entered Saturday night’s game with 995 hits. He would be the 31st player in Sox history to reach 1,000 . . . Saturday was the five-year anniversary of Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter against Baltimore . . . Lefthanded reliever Rich Hill was activated off the 60-day disabled list . . . The Sox were 9-20 in August despite leading the majors with 290 hits and ranking fourth in the American League with 139 runs. Their pitchers had a 5.54 ERA in August. That may have had something to do with it.

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.