Jack Perkins #50 of the Athletics pitches during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Monday, July 27, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Jacob Soriano/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Athletics are in what could be an injury-riddled free fall. Imagine you jump from an airplane for a skydiving excursion, and as soon as you deploy your parachute, someone shoots a thousand holes into it. Well, the skydiver is the A’s, the parachute their season, and the holes in the parachute the team’s injuries so far this season.

Coming into Monday’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox, the A’s were 3-7 over their last ten games and were coming home to a ballpark in Sacramento where they have struggled mightily.

The A’s fell to the Red Sox 4-2 on Monday night.

Jack Perkins got the ball for the A’s in what was his eighth start of the year and his 26th appearance of the season. Perkins was highly effective for the vast majority of his outing as he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning while not allowing any runs. However, it was the sixth inning that would ultimately be the end of the line for Perkins.

Connor Wong led off the sixth inning with a double for the Red Sox to snap the no-hitter, but Perkins managed to induce back-to-back groundouts to record two outs in the inning. Yet, A’s manager Mark Kotsay had the bullpen going after the leadoff double, and after Perkins walked the next hitter, Kotsay elected to go to the bullpen even with Perkins at only 69 pitches.

The decision didn’t pay off for Kotsay as Jose Suarez ended up giving up a grand slam, and Jack Perkins was charged with two earned runs that scored on the homer. All said and done, Perkins went five and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on one hit while walking three and striking out four Red Sox hitters.

After the game, Kotsay explained his decision to remove Perkins with only 69 pitches.

“How many times has Jack Perkins been in the sixth inning in a big game, right?” Kotsay told me after the game. “The success of this year hasn’t been very good. So we’re looking at building positives here with him and getting him out of that game, giving an opportunity to get an out. He walks off that mound with a positive mindset and builds off this outing.”

It was a perfectly reasonable explanation from Kotsay on his thought process to pull Perkins with so few pitches. However, it didn’t make the results any less frustrating for the A’s.

As for Perkins’ outing as a whole, Kotsay was complimentary of the way Jack went about his business.

“I thought this was a step in the right direction,” Mark Kotsay said of Perkins. “Obviously he’s a young starter… so there’s progress, and really that’s what we have to look at right now with Jack. And I think tonight, him getting into the sixth inning, throwing the baseball really well, a lot of positives to that outing.”

Out of the bullpen, the A’s went to Jose Suarez first to relieve Perkins. Suarez pitched just one-third of an inning, closing out the sixth while allowing two runs on two hits and walking one in the rough outing.

Mark Kotsay elected to go with Elvis Alvarado in the seventh inning, and it was eventful, albeit while Alvarado didn’t allow a run. Alvarado allowed two hits in his scoreless inning of work while striking out one Red Sox hitter.

In the eighth inning, the A’s went with Hayden Juenger, who tossed a scoreless eighth while allowing no hits and no walks.

In the ninth inning, with the A’s down 4-2, they went with Hogan Harris in an effort to keep the game close heading to the bottom of the ninth. Harris tossed a clean top of the ninth, allowing no hits or walks while striking out one.

On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s struggled to get much of anything going against the Red Sox staff. The A’s managed just two runs on six hits and drew only one walk in the game.

The A’s got their first run of the game just two batters in when Tyler Soderstrom sent a ball over the left-center-field wall for a solo home run to give the A’s the early lead. Soderstrom’s home run was his 17th of the season and gave him his 50th RBI of the year. The ball left the bat at 99.7 mph and traveled 375 feet.

The A’s second run of the game also came on a solo home run. This time it was Jonah Heim with the blast in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull the A’s within two and make it a 4-2 game. It was Heim’s tenth home run and 33rd RBI of the season.

That was all the scoring the A’s could muster as they dropped Game 1, 4-2, to the Red Sox.

The A’s will take on the Red Sox in Game 2 of the series Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. PDT at Sutter Health Park. Gage Jump (3-6, 4.42 ERA) is slated to start for the A’s, while the Red Sox will counter with Jake Bennett (6-3, 2.58 ERA).

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.