No doubts: Jackie Bradley Jr. builds on strong start to season

It was only two years ago that there were questions about whether Jackie Bradley Jr. could perform consistently at the major league level.

Two months into the best offensive start to a season in his career, he continues to prove a lot of people wrong.

Bradley had two home runs and six RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics with a 13-3 win on Wednesday night.

Bradley said he’s never doubted his ability to put up the kind of numbers he has over the first two months of this season.

“I’ve been able to do it at every level. I think it was just a matter of time,” Bradley said. “Everybody kind of moves at their own speed. All I could constantly do was just work. No need to get mad or upset. Just try to get better.”

Boston scored six runs in the first four innings and then had four more in the fifth to post its third straight game with at least 10 runs. Dustin Pedroia added a home run and the Red Sox finished with a season-high 17 hits.

For the series Bradley finished 8 for 14 with three homers and 13 RBIs. The Red Sox outscored the Athletics 40-15.

“The lineup, up and down, it’s a relentless group and they’re not giving at-bats away,” manager John Farrell said. “We’re in a stretch right now where we’re driving the baseball.”

Bradley also had six RBIs in the series opener on Monday.

Boston has thrived early in games this season and entered Wednesday having outscored its opponents 38-11 in the first inning. This time it took an inning before its bats came to life.

Bradley started it off with his first home run off the roof of Red Sox’s bullpen that put Boston in front 3-1. It was his second home run of the series and fifth during his streak.

Bradley was a key member of South Carolina’s back-to-back College World Series championship teams in 2010 and 2011. He was selected by Boston as the 40th overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft.

He now has sole possession of the second-longest hitting streak in the majors this season. Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer’s had an 18-game streak that ended last month.