A's walk off on Sox after nearly getting no-hit
OAKLAND -- It took a two-out replay review in the eighth inning for the A's to get their first hit against Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, but they avoided a series sweep with their second hit one inning later when Khris Davis' double off Craig Kimbrel, with help from a
OAKLAND -- It took a two-out replay review in the eighth inning for the A's to get their first hit against Red Sox starter
With the shocking loss and a Blue Jays win, the Red Sox fell to one game back in the American League East.
Valencia walked to begin the ninth against Kimbrel. Davis then roped a double to left, turning on an inside first pitch, a location Kimbrel said he wanted. Holt misplayed the ball off the carom, allowing Valencia to score.
"I was trying to get it in quick and it kicked off the wall a little bit harder than I thought it was going to," Holt said. "Spinning around, I just kind of rushed it. Obviously I should've caught that ball cleanly and got it in."
• Replay review ends E-Rod's no-hit bid in 8th
With two outs in the eighth, Rodriguez knocked a
Red Sox manager John Farrell then visited the mound, electing to keep the young lefty in the game, and Rodriguez got
"In the bigger picture, Eddy's start today is extremely important to us as we continue to build out this rotation over the final three to four weeks here," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
Unlike in Saturday's 9-0 win, when Red Sox righty
"If you can do the little things right and hold the team down, you always have a chance to win," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "You're trying to just get a hit, let alone a run, and the next thing you know it's a walk and a double and it's a win."
Added Farrell on the walk-off loss: "They're frustrating. They're frustrating in the sense that guys are busting their hump trying to finish out a play. Any time you're walked off, there's a deflated feeling in that. Sometimes when you have a miscue involved in there, it stings a little bit more."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Kimbrel battles control: The Red Sox had the matchup they wanted -- their closer in the ninth inning of a tied game against the heart of the A's order -- but they couldn't execute. Kimbrel said he "was all over the place against Valencia," adding he found himself pulling off the mound within his mechanics.
"It's the meat of their lineup," Kimbrel said. "Save, non-save, at this point it doesn't matter. Winning ballgames is what matters."
"I was definitely trying to jump him early, just because he had walked Danny and I know he was just trying to get ahead," Davis said, "so I didn't want to miss the first one."
Graveman staves off Sox: After watching the Red Sox score 27 runs through the first two games of this series, Graveman buckled down and kept them off the board with six hits scattered in 6 1/3 innings, working quickly and confidently throughout -- even in the fourth inning when he escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out.
"That was the key to the game," Melvin said. More >
"You've seen what they've done to us the past five games,' Graveman said, "and you kind of take it personal as a team, because they are a good team, and we want to compete against the best in this league and prove we can win some of these close ballgames against teams that are gonna be playoff teams."
Take the good with the bad: Moncada delivered an up-and-down performance in his second career start. The 21-year-old third baseman misplayed a routine grounder from
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
The Red Sox won a fourth-inning challenge, asserting that
WHAT'S NEXT
Red Sox:
Athletics: Right-hander
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Mark Chiarelli is a reporter for MLB.com based in the Bay Area and covered the Red Sox on Sunday.
Jane Lee has covered the A's for MLB.com since 2010. Follow her on Twitter @JaneMLB.