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.
And even when the quest seemed all but lost, down by four in the bottom of the ninth, interim manager Chad Tracy’s team created the feeling that more magic could be coming.
Eli White came up with the bases loaded and two outs, representing the potential tying run. But his 103.6 mph liner to center was caught, and Boston’s nine-game winning streak was snapped in a 7-3 defeat to the Athletics.
What was Tracy thinking when the ball hit the barrel of White’s bat?
“That we might actually win the game the way it's gone [lately],” Tracy said. “So it was a great effort to get the tying run to the plate and give ourselves a shot.”
And not just by the players. The Fenway crowd of 36,696 roared in search of another wild comeback to continue the string of many that have happened of late. As Andruw Monasterio stood on first base after keeping the game alive with a two-out walk, he took in his surroundings.
“I love playing here,” Monasterio said. “These fans are number one in baseball. I love it, and I thank [all the fans] for that. I was on first base and I saw this, and I was like this is another level.”
For at least a day, the Sox leveled off, losing to lefty Gage Jump, who had also handed them their previous defeat before the nine-game winning streak on July 28 in West Sacramento.
The last team to lose sequential games within a single season while facing the same starting pitcher for each loss (with at least nine games between the two losses) was the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost on July 28 vs. the Giants in a game started by Tim Lincecum. Their next loss was on Aug. 7, also against the San Francisco Giants and Lincecum, with nine games in between the two contests.
Here were some key takeaways from a hot and humid day at Fenway.
1. Bennett gets predictable to break hot streak
Rookie lefty Jake Bennett has been one of the many key contributors for the Red Sox during their summer surge, having gone nine straight starts in which he allowed three or fewer runs before Saturday.
What happened to derail his momentum? The biggest issue seemed to be pitch patterns. The Athletics appeared to anticipate Bennett’s changeup while scoring two in the fifth and sending him to the exits with one out in the sixth.
“I feel like they definitely might have been sitting on some changeups,” said Bennett. “I'm very fastball-changeup dominant in my arsenal. Facing that team a second time, I felt they kind of knew that and sat on the changeup. I just have to adjust to that, get some spin working.”
Bennett retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced but couldn't sustain it. In 5 1/3 frames, he gave up five hits and four runs while walking a career high of three while striking out five.
2. Monasterio extends on-base streak
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 pair of walks on a day he extended his on-base streak to 20 games, the most by a Red Sox player since Triston Casas from April 13-May 14, 2023. Cast as a utility player coming into the season, Monasterio got hot just before the All-Star break and keeps earning more playing time. His on-base streak started on July 11.
“Twenty games is a lot, maybe it’s like a month,” said Monasterio. “But I think it's a process. I’m grinding day by day. I'm glad to be part of that, and it makes me proud of myself.”
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. Contreras declined to be interviewed after the game.
“I know how that looks, but I'm also more aware than others that he's a little beat up and he told us before the game, ‘I don't have everything today,’ so I'm fine with it,” said Tracy. “Especially with a guy that plays the game as hard as he does and how hard he turns around first base all the time. I'm fine with him.”
Contreras 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.