OAKLAND, Calif. - Every last member of the Red Sox knows you're out there, you doomsayers. Not that they blame you. There's no sugarcoating the catalog of heartache their forebears developed at your terrible expense over the decades.

So, Grady Little's Gang, which is either setting up everyone from Block Island to the Canadian Maritimes for a thunderous fall or sowing the seeds for something spectacular, plays on, hoping their wondrous start convinces a few folks they're for real even as they themselves marvel at their early promise.

''I'll be honest with you, I knew we were a good ball club coming out of spring training, so I'm not surprised at the way we're playing,'' Little said after the Sox stunned the A's, 5-1, before 18,477 at Network Associates Coliseum to sweep the three-game series and improve their record to 24-7. ''But I am a bit surprised at the record. That's a pretty good record.''

Pretty darn good, indeed. By winning their ninth straight game, the Sox are within one victory of matching the '84 Tigers, '51 White Sox, and '12 White Sox for the best road start in history through 19 games (17-2). They had not swept the A's in Oakland since May 29-31, 1995, which predates all but one current member of the club: Tim Wakefield.

Wakefield finished off the A's by pitching a perfect ninth inning. But it was Derek Lowe who set the stage with his sixth quality start in seven outings, as he restricted the A's to one run by scattering six hits and two walks over eight innings. He benefited from some solid defense and timely hitting.

Lowe (5-1) gave up the only run when the A's strung together three hits in the first inning. But once he gained command of his sinker, he induced 21 outs on ground balls, and after the game was leading the league in batting average allowed (.165). Lowe has pitched 66 1/3 innings over 10 starts since he entered the rotation last September and has posted a 1.90 ERA. He has not allowed a home run.

Lowe was facing Tim Hudson, who finished second to Pedro Martinez two years ago in the Cy Young Award voting. ''I knew I was facing a tough pitcher who wasn't going to make many mistakes,'' Lowe said. ''After the rough first inning, I got in a groove and got better as we went.''

Trailing, 1-0, the Sox gave Lowe all the support he needed when they jumped on Hudson for three runs in the third. Lou Merloni, playing second so Rey Sanchez could fill in at short for Nomar Garciaparra, who was taking a scheduled day off, started the rally by singling to center. Sanchez doubled him to third and Johnny Damon knocked him in with a sacrifice fly. Then Jose Offerman socked his third homer of the year, a two-run shot.

Merloni, Offerman, and Brian Daubach, who played left while Manny Ramirez DHed, are part of a bench squad Carlos Baerga has dubbed ''the animal group,'' apparently this year's version of the Dirt Dogs.

''I'm one of the animals,'' Merloni acknowledged. ''Even if there's just one or two of us in there, we're taking pride in trying to make a difference and help this team continue on our path.''

A couple of the animals played key roles after Eric Chavez tripled leading off the fourth inning. A batter later, Lowe walked Terrence Long to bring up Ramon Hernandez with one out.

''I was trying to pitch around Long to set up a double-play situation,'' Lowe said.

Did he ever. Hernandez tapped the ball to Offerman at first, who caught Chavez trying to score from third and fired to Jason Varitek at the plate. After tagging Chavez, Varitek spotted Hernandez foolishly straying too far off first and fired behind him to Lowe. With Hernandez breaking for second, Lowe threw to Sanchez, who dished off to Merloni to end Hernandez's escapade and complete the double play.

''It was a crazy way to do it but it worked,'' Lowe said. ''It was a big shot in the arm for us.''

The A's failed to advance another runner to second as Lowe and Wakefield retired 14 of the final 16 batters.

''He looked fabulous, man,'' said former Sox catcher Scott Hatteberg, who grounded out in each of four at-bats against Lowe. ''He's the finished product of where people predicted he could be.''

Shea Hillenbrand, batting third for Garciaparra, was hit on the left arm by a pitch by Hudson in the first inning, four days after Tampa Bay's Ryan Rupe struck him in the back. But Hillenbrand had the last word with Hudson, as he went deep in the fifth inning for his seventh homer and a 4-1 lead.

Trot Nixon, batting against a lefty for the first time since he was benched Saturday against Tampa Bay lefty Joe Kennedy, provided the final run when he singled off reliever Matt Venafro in the eighth, driving in Ramirez, who had singled off Chad Bradford.

The Sox survived a miniscare in the ninth when Daubach collided with Damon in left-center catching a fly by Jermaine Dye off Wakefield.

Daubach said it was the hardest hit he has absorbed since he played football. He suffered a sore hip and neck, but he said he was fine.

After all, the feel-good Sox are unbeaten in May and Daubach is hitting a robust .328. ''We're having a lot of fun,'' he said, ''and we're gaining a lot of confidence.''

Next stop, Seattle.

By Bob Hohler of The Boston Globe Staff

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 5/10/2002.

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.