OAKLAND, Calif. -- The night before, they had pounded out hits with ease, 18 in all, their single-season high. But yesterday it was as if the Red Sox had used up their two-day allotment all at once and had no offense left, managing just four hits.

On their last homestand, Dan Haren was the one Oakland starter the Sox could solve when they bashed out nine hits and five runs in five innings. But yesterday Haren checked the Sox on a single run over seven innings, allowing just four hits.

Baseball: still a funny game after all these years.

"That's the nature of the game," said Coco Crisp after the Sox were handcuffed by Haren and two relievers in a flat 5-1 loss. "We went out there with the same mental approach as (Tuesday) night, but that happens. We just have to go home, and in a couple of days get ready to play another series. We won this series, at least."

Yesterday's defeat, though, cost the Sox a chance to sweep the series and left them with a 3-3 record on their six-game West Coast trip.

What little attack the Sox could muster was spread throughout the afternoon. They got a double from Mark Loretta in the first, a two-out single from Crisp in the second, then nothing again until the seventh, when, with one out, Manny Ramirez laced a double to center to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.

A single to right by Crisp scored Ramirez, but that was the extent of the offense.

"We didn't mount much," conceded manager Terry Francona. "The hope was we could get into their bullpen early because we had overextended them (Tuesday night). But we just couldn't get anything going."

Credit there goes to Haren, who, after yielding the single to Crisp in the second, proceeded to retire the next 14 hitters in succession.

"He was so effective," said Francona. "His velocity was 93-94, and he was able to get his off-speed stuff over, too."

Kyle Snyder, meanwhile, made two critical mistakes to Oakland DH Frank Thomas and paid dearly.

In the third, he threw a 2-and-0 fastball, but left it on "the outer half of the plate, belt-high," according to the pitcher.

In the fifth, with Jason Kendall (walk, stole base) and Milton Bradley (walk) aboard, he tried to get a fastball in, but didn't bury it far enough.

"I wanted to get it in more," he said. "It was over the inner-third, but he was sitting on it and could handle it."

With two swings, Thomas had produced four of the A's five runs. Battling persistent leg injuries, Thomas has limited mobility, but still has the raw strength to drive balls.

"I'm happy right now with the direction I'm headed," Thomas said. "I don't feel like I'm old. I still feel like I have a lot to give. I wanted to go out and help set a tone for this team today. We needed that."

"He's so strong," said Francona. "He's still very dangerous. He can still put the head of the bat on the ball and hit it out of the ballpark."

For the third straight outing, the fifth inning was Snyder's downfall. Against Oakland on July 16, he allowed five runs -- all of them in the fifth. Against Seattle in the road trip opener, he allowed two runs -- both in the fifth. And finally, yesterday, three of the five runs off him came in the fifth.

Of the 12 runs he's yielded in his last three starts, 10 have come in the fifth inning, but Snyder dismissed a suggestion that his troubles were related to fatigue.

"I don't think it has anything to do with that," he said, pointing out that he came back out for the sixth inning yesterday and pitched a scoreless final frame.

In the meantime, his teammates went meekly over the final two innings against Kiko Calero and Huston Street.

If there was any consolation to the long plane trip last night, it was this: 18 of the Sox' next 24 games are at Fenway, where they have the best home winning percentage in the game.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340