The Red Sox had an opportunity to do something they had never done in franchise history Saturday afternoon.
Instead, their nine-game winning streak came to an end.
Boston squandered an early lead and repeatedly failed to capitalize with runners on base in a 7-3 loss to the Athletics at Fenway Park, falling one victory shy of its second 10-game winning streak of the season.
The Red Sox, who tied a franchise record with 15 consecutive wins from July 3-22, jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning but couldn’t build on it.
Andruw Monasterio stayed red-hot, delivering a two-run single to give Boston the early advantage. The hit extended his hitting streak to 10 games and his on-base streak to 20, the longest by a Red Sox player since Triston Casas reached safely in 23 straight games in 2023.
“Jumped out early,” interim manager Chad Tracy said of his lineup on Saturday afternoon. “And then didn’t do a ton.”
From there, Athletics starter Gage Jump took control, shutting down the Sox’ lineup.
After allowing two runs in the first, the left-hander didn’t surrender another over six innings. He struck out 11 and generated 19 swings and misses as Boston continually came up empty in run-scoring situations.
Jump’s 84 strikeouts through his first 14 career games are the second-most in Athletics history, trailing only Tim Hudson, who had 87 in 1999. The left-hander has also been especially effective away from home, going 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in six road starts.
“He was pretty good. He was pretty good in Sacramento, too,” Tracy said of the rookie Jump. “You just got to give him credit. He settled in, he looked good.”
Boston went 2-for-14 (.125) with runners in scoring position today, leaving 12 runners on base. The Sox hit .463 (25-for-54) with runners in scoring position through the first four games of this current homestand.
Those missed opportunities drew the Fenway crowd’s frustration late. Willson Contreras, back in the lineup after missing two games with an illness, was booed after failing to run out a hard-hit ground ball to third to begin the eighth. Jarren Duran heard boos later in the inning after striking out with two runners in scoring position.
Contreras, who has been sick the last few days, declined to speak to reporters after the game.
“I know how that looks, but I’m also aware more than others that he’s a little beat up and told us before the game, ‘I don’t have everything today.’ So I’m fine. 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 it,” Tracy said.
Even in the ninth, the Red Sox gave themselves one final opportunity, only to leave the bases loaded when Eli White flied out to center to end the game.
Jake Bennett couldn’t make the early lead hold up.
The rookie left-hander turned in his shortest start since June 17, allowing four runs on five hits and a season-high three walks while striking out five.
Bennett entered Saturday having allowed only nine singles in 59 at-bats against his changeup without surrendering an extra-base hit. That streak ended in the fourth when Jacob Wilson doubled to left-center.
Wilson eventually scored to cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 after Brian Serven hit a ground ball in front of the mound that Bennett couldn’t turn into an out.
“I actually thought he threw the ball well,” Tracy said Bennett. “It looked like maybe they adjusted because he was so good early on with his off-speed (pitches). … He might have lost a couple more counts than he usually does, but overall I still thought he threw the ball well.
“He pitched into the sixth inning, and the last hitter puts a long at-bat on him. If he gets a quick one there, and we give him one more, he might turn in a quality start. So it was OK.”
The Athletics broke through an inning later when
