Sacramento — In the blink of an eye, the Athletics found themselves in a situation they’ve seen far too often this season: a promising start erased by a sudden collapse.
The A’s carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning Monday night before a three-run outburst, capped by Ceddanne Rafaela’s grand slam, sent the Red Sox ahead 4-1. Boston never looked back, handing the Athletics another frustrating home loss.
Athletics starting pitcher Jack Perkins had kept the red-hot Red Sox lineup in check through the first five innings, carrying a no-hitter while allowing just two walks. But Boston finally broke through when Connor Wong opened the sixth with a double down the left-field line, ending Perkins’ no-hit bid.
The A’s appeared poised to escape the inning after recording two straight groundouts, leaving Wong stranded at third with two outs. But the game quickly unraveled.
A four-pitch walk put runners on the corners, prompting Athletics manager Mark Kotsay to turn to the bullpen for the final out. José Suárez entered, but the move failed to stop the Red Sox’s momentum.
Suárez fell behind in the count and issued another walk to load the bases, bringing one of Boston’s hottest hitters to the plate.
Making his first appearance at Sutter Health Park, Rafaela wasted little time making an impact. After taking two pitches to move ahead 2-0 in the count, he crushed a hanging slider 382 feet over the left-field wall for a go-ahead grand slam.
The ball sailed just beyond the reach of A’s left fielder Colby Thomas, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 Red Sox lead.
Jonah Heim responded in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run to cut the deficit to 4-2, but the Athletics could not mount another comeback.
The Athletics squandered several scoring opportunities and stranded six runners throughout the game. Two were left on base in the ninth inning, when Boston’s closer Aroldis Chapman shut the door with two strikeouts to secure the victory.
The Red Sox starting pitcher Payton Tolle overcame a shaky first inning to keep the A’s in check. Tyler Soderstrom gave the Athletics an early 1-0 lead with a first-inning home run, and Thomas followed with a single to center. But Tolle settled down and limited the damage.
The left-hander worked 5⅓ innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out seven. Both of his earned runs came on solo home runs.
Perkins matched Tolle for much of the night, striking out four and giving the A’s one of their better starting pitching performances in recent weeks. For five innings, it appeared his effort might be enough to give the Athletics a much-needed home victory.
Instead, the sixth inning once again proved costly.
The Athletics entered Monday with MLB’s worst home record, and another loss only deepened their struggles at Sutter Health Park. The A’s fell to 20-31 at home and have not won a home series since April.
Their inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities once again proved costly, leaving the Athletics with an uphill battle as they try to snap their home-series drought against one of baseball’s hottest teams. The Red Sox have now won 18 of their last 20 games.
The loss dropped the Athletics to 44-62 on the season, giving them the third-worst record in MLB with a .415 winning percentage. With three games remaining in the four-game series, the A’s will have three more opportunities to turn things around against Boston and salvage the series.
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