Red Sox rally falls just short as Bennett deals another quality start

WEST SACRAMENTO – As the baseball took flight off Anthony Seigler’s bat with two outs in the top of the ninth, it looked like the Red Sox were in the process of yet another magical moment that could lead them to an 11th straight road victory.

But Seigler’s Statcast-projected 397-foot drive to deep center was corralled by center fielder Henry Bolte, who had a slight crash into the wall as he brought in a 4-3 win for the Athletics on Tuesday night, giving the Sox their first loss on the road since June 24 in Denver.

Per Statcast, Seigler’s game-ending flyout would have been a homer in seven MLB ballparks – but not Sutter Health Park.

“I definitely thought it had a chance,” said Seigler. “Worst case, I thought it was gonna be a double. But I felt like I put a good barrel on it, and it just ended up an out. Unfortunate, but that's how it is.”

Connor Wong had helped create the drama that led to Seigler’s final at-bat, when he launched a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. Seigler just missed making it back-to-back jacks to tie it up.

“I mean, when he hit it, I thought he had the trajectory right,” Wong said of Seigler’s drive. “When I hit mine, I felt like it was kind of low. So that's just kind of the way it goes at times. But we put up a good fight. Just didn't go our way tonight.”

However, it’s been going Boston’s way plenty of late.

“The Red Sox have played arguably the best baseball in the league for the past 25 games,” said Athletics manager Mark Kotsay. “They’re a team with a lot of momentum and a ton of confidence. You saw that tonight. Even though they were down three, they kept taking good at-bats and putting pressure on us.”

Here are some other takeaways for Boston.

1. Bennett strong again before late mishap
Rookie lefty Jake Bennett seemed to be en route to another dominant performance on Tuesday. As he headed back out for the seventh inning, Boston trailed just 1-0. But a two-run homer by the unlikeliest of sources – Brian Serven – put a damper on Bennett’s night.

The catcher, recently called up following the season-ending injury to Shea Langeliers, went deep in the Majors for the first time since Aug. 21, 2022. It was just the fifth homer Bennett has allowed all season.

Coming into the night, Bennett was on a torrid run, going 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA in his previous seven starts. This wasn’t that big a step back. In fact, it was still a quality start, as Bennett allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Much like with Payton Tolle, the Red Sox are trying to manage Bennett’s workload as best they can down the stretch. At 105 innings between Triple-A and the Majors, Bennett is already at his career high as a professional. He did log 117 innings in his final college season with Oklahoma in ‘22.

“Body feels great, arm feels great,” Bennett said. “It's good to be healthy again and just be able to go out and pitch.”

2. Offense quiet from the jump – before making noise later
Without Ceddanne Rafaela’s grand slam that looked like a routine flyout off the bat, the Red Sox could have been shut out on Monday instead of winning, 4-2. The bats were again sleepy against a young Athletics pitcher on Tuesday. This time it was lefty Gage Jump who stifled the Sox, firing six shutout frames that included seven strikeouts.

But after Jump’s exit, the Sox created some chances, and not only in the ninth. In the eighth, Rafaela had a chance to step into the role of hero again when he came up with two on and two outs. But he struck out on three pitches, the last of which was high and way out of the strike zone.

“Those at-bats happen sometimes,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy.

3. How will Breslow respond to Mead injury?
It seemed that Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had jumped ahead of the field when he acquired right-handed hitter Curtis Mead from the Nationals on Saturday. But there was big-time misfortune as Mead suffered a fractured left wrist on Monday in just his second at-bat for Boston. That puts the scrutiny back on Breslow, and how he will address his team’s needs leading into the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.

Breslow was looking for another bat even before Mead went down. The Red Sox could use more pop at catcher, both middle infield positions and designated hitter. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if Breslow adds pitching, even though his team has plenty of it. As the saying goes, you can never have enough.