After losing the lead with two outs to go in the ninth, the Red Sox reclaimed it in a hurry and edged the Oakland A's, 3-2, in 10 innings for their eighth victory in a row. Coupled with a loss by second-place Tampa Bay, the win stretched Boston's lead to a season-high 4.5 games in the A.L. East.
Kike Hernandez delivered a broken bat single to right-center, scoring Michael Chavis from second in the top of the 10th. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Hernandez fired a strike on one hop to throw out the potential tying run at the plate, completing a double play.
In the bottom of the ninth, Elvis Andrus homered to center as Matt Barnes failed to convert the save.
Eduardo Rodriguez gave the Red Sox six shutout innings in arguably his best start of the season.
WHO: Red Sox (51-31) vs Oakland A's (48-35)
WHEN: 9:40 p.m.
WHERE: Oakland Coliseum
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: OAK 2-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4, 5.83) vs. RHP Frankie Montas (7-7, 4.72)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Verdugo LF
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Renfroe RF
Gonzalez 3B
Vazquez C
Santana 1B
Chavis 2B
A'S
Laureano CF
Andrus SS
Olson 1B
Chapman 3B
Pinder RF
Lowrie 2B
Murphy C
Schwindel DH
Kemp LF
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T10: Red Sox take the lead right back as Hernandez shatters his bat, but pokes a single into right-center, scoring Chavis from second.
B9: Barnes can't nail it down and blows his fourth save of the season as Elvis Andrus hits his first homer of the season, going down and getting a fastball at the bottom of the zone and swatting it out to straightaway center.
B8: Impressive inning for Whitlock, who records two more strikeouts and gets the Sox to, presumably, Matt Barnes in the ninth
B7: Garrett Whitlock leaves a sinker up in the zone and Jed Lowrie hits it out to right, cutting the Sox' lead in half.
T7: The A's have one of the best defensive teams in the game, and that was on display in the seventh. Kemp ran about a half-mile to take a double away from Kike Hernandez for the first out, and for the third out, Chad Pinder raced into foul territory to make a terrific catch on Bogaerts.
T6: Hard to figure out why Chavis would swing at the first pitch there against reliever J.B. Wendelken, who had just entered the game. Chavis is way too aggressive and leaves the bases loaded.
B5: Eduardo Rodriguez has been superb, with one infield hit allowed through the first innings. He's retired nine of his last 10 and after throwing 41 pitches in his first two innings of work, he's needed just 35 in the last three.
T5: Just when it seemed like the A's might be out of the inning after a big double play, Alex Verdugo comes through with a single to left, scoring Santana.
T4: Ill-advised sprawling attempt by Tony Kemp in left and a blooper gets past him for a gift double for Rafael Devers, scoring Bogaerts from first (walk). First hit of the night produces the first run.
B2: Xander Bogaerts saves a run with a backhand grab in the hole, preventing Pinder from scoring from second.
B2: Sloppy throw by Marwin Gonzalez across the diamond, and he's charged with an error, though it looked like Danny Santana should have held onto the off-target throw, allowing Chad Pinder to reach.
T2: Hunter Renfroe comes up about a foot short, blasting a ball to straightaway center and forcing Ramon Laureano to back into the CF wall before making the grab.
T1: Tony Kemp makes a fine leaping catch in foul territory, jumping up against the wall for an out against Alex Verdugo
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are coming off a 7-0 homestand, outscoring the Yankees (3-0) and Royals (4-0) by a combined 52-21 (+31)...The Red Sox lead MLB in wins and own sole possession of the AL’s best record (51-31, .622). The Sox are a season-high 20 games above .500. The Sox have won their last seven games, the AL’s longest active win streak and the club’s 2nd-longest of the season (they won nine in a row from April 5-14)...: This is the 14th time the Sox have won at least 51 of their first 82 games, having most recently done so in 2007 and 2018....Under the 10-team playoff format from 2012-2019, 15 of 16 teams who won 51 or more of their first 82 games made the postseason.....The Sox are closing out the first half by playing 19 games in 20 days; they're in a stretch of 16 consecutive days with a game and are 8-2 so far... The Red Sox went 17-10 (.630) in April, 15-11 (.577) in May, and 18-10 (.643) in June....The Red Sox lead the AL East by 3.5 games, matching their largest lead of the season. The Sox are 8-13 (.381) vs. AL West teams and 43-18 (.705) against all others. The Sox are 24-17 (.585) vs. teams that entered today with a winning record, MLB’s third-best mark...The Sox are an MLB-best 24-14 (.632) on the road...They have lost their last three series at Oakland Coliseum, going 3-8 in games from 2017-19. The Red Sox are 27-17 at home, including 27-14 (.659) since getting swept by Baltimore to begin the season...Their .614 win % at home ranks third in the AL.....Kiké Hernández has hit a leadoff HR in three of the Red Sox’ last five games and according to Elias, he is the only Red Sox player ever with three or more leadoff homers in a five-game span. In his last 12 games, Hernández has posted a .300/.412/.700/1.112 batting line with four homers...The Red Sox lead the majors with 28 come-from-behind wins this season...They are an MLB-leading 24-12 (.667) in games decided by one or two runs. The Sox lead the majors in runs scored with 2 outs (178)...With RISP & 2 outs, the Sox lead MLB in AVG (.285) and OPS (.881)....This is Xander Bogaerts’ third All-Star selection (also 2016 & ‘19), his second fan-elected start (2016)...He would become only the third Red Sox player to start multiple All-Star Games at SS, joining Rico Petrocelli (1967, ‘69) and Joe Cronin (1935, ‘37-39, ‘41)....Rafael Devers will be making his All-Star Game debut, becoming the first Red Sox 3B to win the fan election since 2002 (Shea Hillenbrand)...He leads the majors with 69 RBI and ranks second with 45 extra-base hits,....During their seven-game win streak, the Red Sox are batting .335 with a .981 OPS, 14 HR, and 14 doubles...They have scored 52 runs and struck out 45 times. The Red Sox have hit four or more homers an MLB-best eight times this season, including in three of their last five games. The Sox lead MLB with 19 three-run homers. The Sox are an MLB-best 46-4 (.920) when scoring four or more runs...They are 40-3 when scoring five or more runs, 34-1 when scoring six or more runs, and 25-0 when scoring seven or more runs....Since giving up 18 runs to Toronto on June 13,, the Sox have posted a 3.22 ERA in 16 games....In their last 8 games, they have a 2.13 ERA.... Sox pitchers have issued only three BB in their last four games. The Sox lead the AL with 1.03 HR allowed per 9.0 IP. Sox starters have thrown 5.0+ innings 63 times, third -most in the majors (42-21 in those games).....: Red Sox relievers rank third in the AL and sixth in the majors in ERA (3.42)...Sox relievers have allowed no earned runs in their last 16.2 IP...In their last eight games, they own a 0.36 ERA with only two extra base hits allowed (both doubles). In their last 16 games, Sox relievers have posted a 1.95 ERA ....They have stranded their last 16 inherited runners.... Josh Taylor has made 24 consecutive scoreless appearances (19.1 IP), MLB’s longest streak of 2021... Taylor’s streak is the longest by a LHP in Red Sox history... Bogaerts (26 G) and J.D. Martinez (20 G) have the two longest active on-base streaks in MLB...Bogaerts has a .357 AVG and .982 OPS during his streak..
NOTES:
* Alex Cora took over the PA on the team's charter flight from Boston to Oakland Thursday night to announce that Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers had been elected as starters to the American League All-Star team..
* Kevin Plawecki is with the club in Oakland, as he attempts to recover from a hamstring pull and is unlikely to require a rehab assignment at Worcester. "He's doing better, but not quite there,'' said Cora.....Christian Arroyo (knee contusion) is rehabbing with Worcester, in need for a couple of days' at-bats. He's scheduled to join the Sox in Anaheim Monday...