WEST SACRAMENTO – There was no late-game magic this time for the Red Sox at Sutter Health Park.
With a chance to be a hero for the second straight night, center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela instead struck out on a pitch high and well out of the strike zone after stepping to the plate with two on and two outs and his team down by a pair in the top of the eighth.
The Athletics cooled off the steamrolling Red Sox, at least for a game, holding on for a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.
Here are some takeaways for Boston.
1. Bennett tires in seventh
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.
2. Offense mostly goes quietly into the night
Without 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.
Connor Wong brought Boston within a run on a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth.
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.