OAKLAND, Calif.—Trevor Story had three hits and two RBIs, and Wilyer Abreu scored the go-ahead run on a double-play grounder in the 11th inning, sending the Boston Red Sox to a 5–4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of an announced crowd of 5,112 on Tuesday night.
Abreu began the 11th on second base as the automatic runner in extra innings. He advanced on Reese McGuire’s single, and scampered home on Tyler O’Neill’s 5-4-3 double play against Mitch Spence (0–1).
Ceddanne Rafaela made a great running catch in center fied with one out in the bottom of the 11th, robbing Shea Langeliers of extra bases. Josh Winckowski (1–0) then fanned Lawrence Butler for the final out.
“That’s what we do now. We play a lot better defense, and we pitch a lot better,” Red Sox Manager Alex Cora said. “If it’s inside the ballpark, we’re going to catch it, and that was a great play.”
Winckowski, one of five Boston relievers who combined to give up just two hits over six scoreless innings, struck out three in two innings.
“That was unbelievable,” Winckowski said of Rafaela’s catch. “I knew the hitter got a good chunk of it, but I was watching it turn and keep going to right-center, even farther and farther away from Rafaela, and the fact that he caught it was unbelievable.”
Langeliers and JJ Bleday homered for Oakland.
The A’s played errorless ball after having committed 13 miscues through their first five games, including five the night before.
“This one kind of hurts, but you know what, these guys bounced back from last night and put that game behind them,” A’s Manager Mark Kotsay said. “Obviously, all around, a much better performance tonight.”
Story hit an RBI double in the first to help the Red Sox jump out to a 2–0 lead. But Langeliers connected for a two-run home run against Brayan Bello in the second.
Bleday’s two-run shot in the third lifted the A’s to a 4–3 lead, but the Red Sox tied it in the seventh on Story’s run-scoring single.
Bello allowed five hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Up Next
Boston right-hander Nick Pivetta (0–1, 1.50 ERA) and Oakland righty Ross Stripling (0–1, 7.20 ERA) pitch on Wednesday.By Gideon Rubin
