For six innings, Gage Jump made this look easy. Then the Athletics had to sweat out the finish. Oakland held off a late Boston rally to win 4-3, with the bullpen barely closing the door after Jump's scoreless outing set the tone.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| OAK | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | X | 4 | 9 | 0 |
Jump was the story for most of the night. The Oakland right-hander worked six innings, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out seven and walking four. He improved to 4-6 on the season with a 4.00 ERA. Hogan Harris earned the save, his ninth of the season, despite allowing two runs in 1.1 innings as Boston pushed the tying run to the plate in the ninth.
Oakland's offense worked in bursts. Bolte gave the Athletics their first lead in the second inning, singling to center to bring home White and make it 1-0. The margin grew in the seventh when Serven homered to center, a 419-foot shot that also scored Bolte and made it 3-0. Oakland tacked on again in the eighth when Butler doubled to center, driving in White for a 4-1 cushion.
Boston chipped away but never got over the top. Jake Bennett took the loss for the Red Sox after allowing three runs, all earned, over 6.1 innings with four strikeouts, falling to 6-4. In the eighth, Abreu singled to right to score Yoshida, with Contreras moving to third. The Red Sox pushed harder in the ninth when Wong homered to left, a 394-foot drive that also scored Duran and cut the deficit to 3-4, but Oakland's bullpen closed it out from there.
Oakland improved to 45-62 with the win, snapping in with a one-game winning streak after sitting at a loss the game before. Boston fell to 55-51 and has now dropped its last game after a stretch of wins. Jump's outing anchored the night, with Serven's blast in the seventh providing the cushion Oakland needed when Boston came calling late.