As for the game, sometimes games are decided by one swing of the bat but in tonight's game it was two. The Sacramento A's knocked off the Red Sox when Jake Bennett (6-4, 2.74 ERA) was tossing 6 innings of 1 run ball but a Brian Serven two run home run seemingly put the game out of reach. The Sox got a run back on a Wilyer Abreu rbi against Gage Jump but the A's got another run off Ryan Watson. Game over right? Not so fast. The Sox rallied in the ninth when Connor Wong belted a 2 run shot and Anthony Seigler hit a rocket that would have been a home run....if Henry Bolte didn't leap up and catch it for the final out. Had that ball been 5 feet higher the Sox might have won, instead they fell 4-3 to the A's at Sutter Health Park.
Jump got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jahmai Jones doubled to left to start. Romy Gonzalez popped up to first but Willson Contreras walked. Wilyer Abreu grounded into a double play to end the inning. Bennett got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jacob Wilson grounded out to third to start. Nick Kurtz flied out to right and Jonah Heim grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Caleb Durbin got a base hit to right. Durbin stole second but Jarren Duran took strike three. Andruw Monasterio walked but Carlos Narvaez took strike three to end the inning. The A's struck first in the bottom of the second as Tyler Soderstrom grounded out to short to start. Tommy White got a base hit inside the bag at third then took second on a sacrifice bunt by Colby Thomas. Henry Bolte got a base hit to center to score White to put the A's up for good just two innings into it. Alika Williams flied out to right to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.
Jones grounded out to second to start the top of the third but Gonzalez walked. Contreras grounded into a double play to end the inning. Serven grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third and Wilson grounded out to third. Kurtz grounded out to first to end the inning.
Abreu flied out to left to start the top of the fourth and Rafaela grounded out to third. Durbin flied out to right to end the inning. Heim popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Soderstrom took strike three. White singled to right but Thomas flied out to left to end the inning.
Duran caught Kurtz asleep with a bunt to start the top of the fifth but naturally got picked off. Monasterio struck out swinging but Narvaez walked. Jones took strike three to end the inning. Bolte reached on a bunt single to third to start the bottom of the fifth but Williams flied out to right. Bolte swiped second but Severn took strike three. Wilson flied out to right to end the inning.
Gonzalez struck out swinging to begin the top of the sixth and Contreras did the same. Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. Kurtz was called for strike three to start the bottom of the sixth but Heim walked. Soderstrom struck out swinging but White singled to center. Thomas grounded out to short to end the inning.
Luis Medina came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Rafaela got a base hit to right to start. Rafaela took second on the sacrifice bunt by Durbin but, naturally, Duran struck out swinging and Monasterio flied out to center to end the inning. The A's iced the game in the bottom of the seventh as Bolte walked to start. Williams dropped down a bunt to move him to second but Serven hit a home run all the way back to Oakland to put the game out of reach. That was it for Bennett who pitched well but that last home run killed his outing. He went 6 1/3 allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs. Jovani Moran came in to pitch to Wilson and Jacob doubled to left. Kurtz took strike three but Wilson stole second. Heim lined out to second to end the inning with the A's up 3-0.
The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth as Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Narvaez and got a base hit to right. Anthony Seigler pinch hit for Jones and walked.....only for Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Contreras walked to chase Medina. Hogan Harris came in to face Abreu and Wilyer got a base hit to right to score Yoshida. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
Abreu doesn't want to give up
Ryan Watson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Connor Wong now behind the plate. Soderstrom was retired on a tapper in front of the plate but White got a base hit to left. Lawrence Butler pinch hit for Thomas and doubled to center to score White. Bolte flied out to right to move Butler to third but Williams grounded out to short to end the inning with the A's up 4-1.
A's with the dagger
Durbin took strike three to start the top of the ninth but Duran singled off the glove of Bolte. Monasterio took strike three but Wong somehow belted his second home run of the season to cut the lead. Seigler then hit a ball deep out to center but Bolte reached up and grabbed it to end the game. The Sox missed a game tying home run by 5 feet as the A's won 4-3.
Jackass of the Night is Ryan Watson. He allowed a run in the eighth inning that proved to be the difference in the game.
The Good:
Jahmai Jones was 1 for 3.
Anthony Seigler walked as a pinch hitter and missed the game tying home run by 5 feet.
Willson Contreras walked twice in four plate appearances.
Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Carlos Narvaez walked in two plate appearances.
Masataka Yoshida singled and scored as a pinch hitter.
Connor Wong hit a 2 run home run in his only at-bat.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Jake Bennett was solid going 6 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks.
Jovani Moran got the final two outs of the seventh inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Andrew Monasterio was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Final Thoughts:
The loss of Curtis Mead stings already because once again the Sox struggled to score runs against a last place team. The Sox have been on such a roll this month that a lot of fans expected that Seigler ball would go out. Just one month ago nobody even thought they would score a run. Still, they couldn't hit Jump and rallied way too late. Watson picked a bad time to give up a run and Bennett made just one mistake to Serven. We're less than a week away from the trade deadline and the question becomes, does Breslow go all in to make a move for another bat or does he sit back and wait & pray Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Curtis Mead come back healthy? With Story at short, Anthony in left and Mead at second, that puts Seigler & Monasterio as defensive replacements and most likely Duran is DFA'd. You can't hit .199 at this level in the middle of a pennant race. He's either got to pick it up like Durbin did or he's dog food. The worst part is the Tampa Bay Rays lost so the Sox missed an opportunity to gain a game on them. Just have to come back stronger in the next two games. The loss dropped the Sox to 55-51, 7 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Rays when Patrick Sandoval goes for the Sox against Jacob Lopez of Sacramento. The game begins at 9:40 PM eastern time at Sutter Health Park.
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