BOSTON – Notching a second double-digit winning streak in less than three weeks was very much in sight for the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park. But they ran into the only pitcher who has beaten them in the last 11 games.
As a nine-game winning streak was snapped in a 7-3 loss to the Athletics, lefty Gage Jump again served the role of nemesis for the Red Sox. Jump punched out a career high of 11 over six stellar innings, holding the recently surging Boston bats to six hits and two runs while walking two.
The Red Sox hadn’t lost since July 28 in West Sacramento, when Jump pitched six strong innings while leading the A’s to a 4-3 win.
Here were some key takeaways from a hot and humid day at Fenway.
1. Bennett tires mid-start
Rookie lefty Jake Bennett, who has mostly been tremendous for the Red Sox since his second call-up of the season in June, was also on the mound when the Sox faced Jump last time. In that one, Bennett pitched into the seventh inning and it went as a quality start.
This time, he retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced but wore down in the mid innings. In 5 1/3 frames, Bennett gave up five hits and four runs while walking a career high of three while striking out five. It snapped a streak of nine straight starts in which Bennett allowed three or fewer earned runs.
2. Monasterio extends on-base streak
Andruw Monasterio continues to get it done for the Red Sox while playing shortstop nearly every game. The right-handed hitter got his team off to an early lead with a two-run single to right in the first, the only damage the club did all day against Jump. Monasterio later added a walk on a day he extended his on-base streak to 20 games, the most by a Red Sox player since Triston Casas in 2023.
3. Contreras returns, punches out three times
Willson Contreras, Boston’s cleanup hitter, had missed the previous two games dealing with an illness that left him weakened. He returned to the fold in this one but had a tough day, striking out in his first three at-bats and hitting a weak groundout to short in his fourth at-bat. In frustration, Contreras tossed the bat aside and didn’t run all the way to first, drawing some boos from the crowd. He appeared to shake off some rust in his last at-bat, looping a single to center in the bottom of the ninth during a rally that fell short.