dpInterim manager Chad Tracy was thinking along with the crowd at that point.
“I thought we might actually win the game,” he said.
White, a veteran hitter acquired at the trade deadline on Monday, worked the count in his favor and got exactly what he wanted from Athletics closer Hogan Harris, a fastball over the plate.
“I was able to sell out for a heater,” White said.
Christian Kantosky for The Boston Globe
He clobbered it, too. But the 103.6-mile-per-hour line drive was almost directly at center fielder Henry Bolte. He took four short steps to his right, made the catch, and the Athletics had a 7-3 victory.
“That way this team is going, it’s never over until it’s over,” White said. “We’re always in it.”
There is another impressive streak left to salvage. The Sox can win their 10th consecutive series with a victory on Sunday. They have not dropped a series since losing two of three against the Nationals at Fenway June 29-July 1.
The Sox also haven’t lost two games in row since that series.
With the Yankees beating the Braves, the Sox fell back into third place in the American League East and second in the wild-card race.
The good news is that the Sox won’t face Gage Jump again. The 23-year-old rookie lefthander is apparently their kryptonite.
Jump has handed the Sox their last two losses. He fired six shutout innings in a 4-3 Athletics victory in West Sacramento, Calif., on July 28. Then he allowed two runs over six innings on Saturday and struck out 11. Nine of his 100 pitches were 98-99 m.p.h.
“He was pretty good. He was pretty good in Sacramento, too,” Tracy said. “He’s got good stuff.”
True. But Jump is 3-7 with a 5.04 ERA in 12 starts when not facing the Red Sox.
Rookies can be like that. Red Sox lefthander Jake Bennett was 5-3 with a 2.35 ERA in his first nine starts. He is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA in four starts since.
Bennett allowed four runs over 5⅓ innings on Saturday, getting hit hard the second time through the order.
“Felt pretty good. Just kind of missed a little bit of execution on pitches. Left them over the plate,” Bennett said.
Bennett retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before running into two-out trouble in the fourth inning.
With Jacob Wilson on second, Tommy White hit a grounder into the shortstop hole. Monasterio stopped the ball in shallow left field to prevent Wilson from scoring.
But Brian Serven hit a high hopper in front of the plate, and Wilson slid in safely as Bennett couldn’t handle the ball in time to tag the runner.
Bennett hit Alika Williams with a breaking ball with one out in the fifth. Wilson followed with a double and Jonah Heim with a single as the Athletics took a 3-2 lead.
Bennett walked Lawrence Butler with one out in the sixth inning and was replaced by Justin Slaten. Pinch hitter Jeff McNeil drew a walk before another pinch hitter, Donovan Walton, hammered a hanging cutter to the gap in right field.
The ball bounced into the Red Sox bullpen for a two-run double and a 5-2 Athletics lead.
The Sox actually took a 2-0 lead on Jump in the first inning.
Jones singled and stole second. Durbin walked with one out before a double steal. Monasterio then delivered a two-run single to right field.
That was their only lead. The Sox were 2 for 14 with 12 runners left on base against Jump and three relievers.
Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.
