A's

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited service from Cleveland’s Lakefront Station to Boston’s South Station is coming down the line. And, today’s 5-3 Red Sox loss to the Travelin’ A’s put the club’s neck on the tracks as Cleveland won its seventh straight game and is now only 1.5 games away from the American League’s third Wild Card slot, a berth Boston seemed sure of holding just weeks ago.

Boston starter Brayan Bello coughed up four straight hits to start the afternoon game at Fenway Park, two being home runs (Laurence Butler) and (Nick Kurtz) to put the Sox down three before their own train left the station.

Boston has now dropped three of their last four series, dating back to September 5. The Red Sox are 5-8 in their last 13 games, 5-10 in their last 15 games at Fenway. While Boston’s 83-70 record through 153 games in their best  since 2021 (92-70), the grasp on the final AL Wild Card spot and a berth in postseason is now facing an uphill battle.

Boston now heads to the road for three-game sets at AL East rival Tampa and three games at AL East-leading Toronto before coming back to Fenway for the final home series of the 2025 season, three games against AL Central leading Detroit (September 26-28).

Bello only pitched four innings, tying his shortest outing of the season (May 23 vs Baltimore). He had allowed only three earned runs or fewer in 25 of his 28 games this season, but fell apart in possibly his most important start of the campaign. In the four IP, he allowed five hits, four runs, three earned runs, with two walks and three strike-outs. Bello is (11-8) on the season.

A’s starter J.T. Ginn had the tonic working over six innings pitched, allowing five hits, two earned runs with one walk and three strike-outs. David Hamilton’s second inning homer was the blemish and it made the score A’s 3-Boston 2, after two innings, but the club, formerly of Oakland (and Kansas City, way back when) scratched out two more runs (5-2, in middle of the seventh inning) while Boston’s offense was derailing.

Only Trevor Story’s eighth inning home run added a tally and closed out the scoring, (5-3).

After a terrible start to the season when they lost 20-of-21 from May 14 to June 4, the A’s are now an AL-best (30-19) since July 24.

A’s DH Brent Rooker hit his 30th home run of the season and is only the seventh player in franchise history to record three consecutive 30-HR seasons. Story’s homer was his 25th of the season and he joined Jacoby Ellsbury as the only two Red Sox players with 25+ HRs, 30+ Stolen bases and 90+ runs batted in.

A’s reliever Hogan Harris notched his fourth save of the year.

Boston will throw ace Garrett Crochet in the first game of the series vs. Tampa tomorrow night at 7:35 (NESN).

 

BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The Athletics are just one loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention, but they could be one heck of a spoiler down the stretch.

Now winners of five games in a row and an American League-best 29 games since July 24, the A’s (71-80) will look to secure a series win when they visit the Boston Red Sox (82-69) for the middle contest of a three-game set on Wednesday night.

“These games are really important (in Boston’s playoff chase), and the support they’re going to get for these three games, in some way, will represent that type of (playoff) atmosphere,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “For our young guys, this is a good challenge for them, to be able to go into a pretty electric environment.”

It took until the sixth inning for Tyler Soderstrom and Brett Harris to drive in the tying and winning runs on Tuesday, and Mitch Spence and Hogan Harris did the rest over five shutout relief innings as the A’s won 2-1. Jeffrey Springs was the starter, giving up one run (none earned) over four innings.

The result was the team’s third straight road-series-opening win and its second one-run victory over the Red Sox in a seven-day stretch.

Kotsay said he believes fans should get used to watching Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson facing the likes of Boston’s Roman Anthony (though currently injured) and pitchers Connelly Early and Payton Tolle.

SACRAMENTO – (Wire Service Report) – Lawrence Butler’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth gave the host Athletics a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday in Northern California.

The Athletics (67-80), who avoided a sweep in the three-game series, got homers from Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz and snapped a three-game losing streak. Brent Rooker was 3-for-5 with two doubles, his 39th and 40th.

The Red Sox (81-66) had their three-game winning streak halted. Nate Eaton was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. The club will fly home to Boston, have a travel day Thursday then open up a weekend series against AL East and Wild Card rival New York.

Boston tied the game 4-4 with two outs in the top of the ninth on Rob Refsnyder’s RBI double off Elvis Alvarado. It scored pinch runner Ceddanne Rafaela from first.

Butler’s game-winning single scored Langeliers, who had doubled, from third.

Both hits came off of loser Aroldis Chapman (4-3), who had not allowed a hit to his previous 50 batters.

Hogan Harris (2-1) got the win.

Kyle Soderstrom’s pinch-hit two-run double with the bases loaded in the fifth gave the Athletics a 4-3 lead. Butler, who was on first, also tried to score but was thrown out at the plate.

Athletics starter Mason Barnett allowed three runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings with a walk and four strikeouts.

Boston tied it 2-2 on Trevor Story’s run-scoring double in the third. Jerran Duran’s groundout gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the fourth.

Kurtz’s 30th homer, leading off the second, made it 2-1 Athletics. He drilled opener Payton Tolle’s pitch to the opposite field, down the left-field line and over the wall.

Eaton’s RBI double in the second tied the game 1-1 for Boston. It was a short popup down the right-field line, on which first baseman Nick Kurtz and second baseman Zack Gelof collided as they tried to catch it. The ball actually bounced off of Kurtz’s glove.

Langeliers’ one-out home run in the first gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead. His drive barely eluded a leaping Duran, who lost his glove over the fence, at the left-field wall. It was Langeliers’ 30th homer.

–Field Level Media

SACRAMENTO – Wire Service Preview) – Major League Baseball veteran Rob Refsnyder is the new owner of the longest homer hit by a Boston Red Sox player this season.

Refsnyder belted a 463-foot homer to fuel Boston’s second straight win in a three-game series against the Athletics, and he will aim to help the Red Sox complete the sweep Wednesday afternoon in the temporary Northern California home of the soon-to-be Las Vegas A’s.

Boston (81-65) is in a virtual tie for second place with the New York Yankees (80-64) in the American League East, three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays (83-61). The Red Sox and Yankees also share the top two AL wild-card positions.

Refsnyder’s career-long homer was a three-run blast that capped a four-run first inning on Tuesday. It was just the 32th homer the journeyman has hit in 10 major league seasons.

“That’s the furthest ball I’ve ever hit, and it will probably be the furthest I’ll ever hit,” Refsnyder said after Boston’s 6-0 win. “It’s special to be able to do something like that. There’s a really bunch of bad years and stretches where I really couldn’t even hit the ball forward.”

When the subject turned to bragging rights, the reality that his homer was the team’s longest sunk in.

“They all count the same, but it’s bad when a 34-year-old is No. 1, so I will give some crap to some guys,” Refsnyder said.

Boston has had many heroes while outscoring the Athletics 13-0 over the first two games.

Trevor Story and Carlos Narvaez homered in the Red Sox’s 7-0 victory on Monday, and Romy Gonzalez led off Tuesday game with a homer shortly before Refsnyder’s blast.

Gonzalez also hit an RBI double in the second inning but exited with left knee soreness after 1 1/2 frames.

“Left knee kind of locked up on me, nothing too serious,” Gonzalez said. “Hoping I will be ready to go by Friday.”

Gonzalez is batting .455 (20-for-44) during a 12-game hitting streak. Prior to the homer and double on Tuesday, all 18 of the hits were singles.

The Athletics had 10 hits on Tuesday but also struck out 11 times in five innings against Boston left-hander Connelly Early, who was making his big-league debut. On Monday, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet pitched the first seven innings of a shutout victory.

It marked the first time the A’s have been blanked in consecutive games since facing the Detroit Tigers on June 26 and the New York Yankees one day later.

“To get shut out back-to-back nights is tough,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “Our offense has been great all year.

“We’ve faced tough pitching. We had a lot of chances and we didn’t capitalize. When you have 10 hits and you don’t score any runs, it says a lot about your opportunities with runners in scoring position.”

A’s All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson had three hits to raise his batting average to .319, second best in the majors behind the .321 mark of the Yankees’ Aaron Judge.

“It’s impressive — his ability to use the whole field the way that he does,” Kotsay said. “It doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down right now.”

Left-hander Payton Tolle (0-1, 7.56 ERA) will make his third start for Boston on Wednesday. His first went well, his second did not.

The 22-year-old struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 29 in his big-league debut. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks.

However, Tolle lasted just three innings and gave up five runs and five hits while losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. He fanned two and walked four.

Right-hander Mason Barnett (1-1, 9.00) will make his third career start for the A’s.

Barnett, 24, struggled in his debut vs. the Texas Rangers on Aug. 30, permitting five runs on eight hits in four-plus innings. He came back to beat the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, when he allowed four runs and three hits over five innings. In the latter contest, he struck out eight and walked five.

–Field Level Media