The Athletics waited nearly two months for another series victory. They finally got one Sunday with a comeback at Fenway Park.
Max Muncy delivered a two-out RBI double in the ninth inning, lifting the A’s to a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. The victory gave the Athletics two straight wins after Friday’s 13-1 loss and their first series win after dropping 12 consecutive series.
Their previous series victory came June 14 against Colorado at Las Vegas Ballpark, although that series ended with a staggering 23-9 loss to the Rockies. That same day, much of Las Vegas’ sports attention was a few miles away at T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights were playing Carolina in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Hurricanes won 3-0 to clinch the championship.
Since then, the A’s had gone 12 consecutive series without another series victory.
The Athletics improved to 47-71 after rallying from a 3-2 deficit with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Ginn limits the damage
J.T. Ginn gave the Athletics six solid innings and limited the damage despite a costly error of his own.
Ginn allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. However, only one of Boston’s three runs was earned.
The trouble came in the fifth with the A’s leading 2-1. Eli White and Jake Rogers opened the inning with singles before Nick Sogard put down a bunt.
Ginn fielded it but threw the ball away, allowing White to score. The error also moved Rogers to third, where he scored on Wilyer Abreu’s sacrifice fly.
As a result, Boston took a 3-2 lead despite managing just one earned run against Ginn.
Brady Basso followed with a perfect seventh. Then Elvis Alvarado retired Boston in order in the eighth and earned the win.
Heim starts the comeback
Tyler Soderstrom helped create both of the Athletics’ early runs.
Henry Bolte scored on Soderstrom’s first-inning groundout. Then Soderstrom tripled to begin the fourth and scored on Tommy White’s groundout for a 2-1 lead.
Boston moved ahead in the fifth, and that score held until the eighth.
Jeff McNeil opened the inning with the 1,000th hit of his career. Then he stole second before Jonah Heim lined a two-out double to left.
McNeil scored to tie the game at 3.
Muncy delivers in the ninth
The Athletics completed the comeback against Aroldis Chapman.
Alika Williams singled with two outs in the ninth. Donovan Walton entered as a pinch-runner and promptly stole second.
Then Muncy doubled to center, bringing Walton home with the go-ahead run.
Hogan Harris still had work to do in the bottom half.
Jahmai Jones opened with a single, and Caleb Durbin later walked. However, Muncy cut down the lead runner at third on Sogard’s ground ball.
Ceddanne Rafaela then lined out to McNeil in left to end it. Harris earned his 11th save.
A long wait ends
The Athletics finished with nine hits and won consecutive games after entering Saturday on a nine-game losing streak.
More importantly, they finally won a series.
Sunday also brought another milestone for the Athletics. Jacob Wilson played his 111th consecutive errorless game at shortstop, establishing a major league record for the position.
Up next
The Athletics return home Monday with some momentum, but the schedule does not get easier.
The first-place Tampa Bay Rays visit Sutter Health Park to open a three-game series.
Jacob Lopez starts for the A’s at 5-4 with a 5.64 ERA and 70 strikeouts. Tampa Bay counters with Freddy Peralta, who enters at 5-9 with a 5.37 ERA and 116 strikeouts.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
