Sacramento A’s starter Gage Jump (61) rears back to pitch to the Boston Red Sox line up at Fenway Park in the first inning on Sat Aug 8, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
Gage Jump came through as the Sacramento A’s savior in the Boston sun this afternoon. The rookie left-hander struck out a career-high 11 over six innings, and the A’s rallied from an early two-run deficit to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3. The victory ended the Athletics’ nine-game losing streak and stopped Boston’s own nine-game winning run, giving the Green and Gold a chance to win after woe after woe of gut wrenching baseball.
Boston struck first in the opening inning. Jahmai Jones singled, stole second and then took third as Caleb Durbin stole second. Andruw Monasterio followed with a two-run single to right, putting the Red Sox ahead 2-0. That was all Boston managed against Jump. He scattered six hits and two walks, striking out 11 while keeping the Athletics within range. The outing was a major rebound after he allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings against Detroit in his previous start.
The A’s began their comeback in the fourth. Jacob Wilson doubled to left, Tommy White kept the inning moving with a two-out single, and Brian Serven beat out a soft grounder that brought Wilson home. One inning later, the Athletics moved ahead for good. Alika Williams was hit by a pitch, Wilson doubled again, and Jonah Heim lined a two-run single to left that scored both runners for a 3-2 advantage.
The sixth inning turned a narrow lead into breathing room, and it came from the bench. Lawrence Butler drew a walk, stole second, then moved to third as Jeff McNeil drew another walk and later stole second. Pinch-hitter Donovan Walton followed with a ground-rule double into right-center, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to 5-2. It was exactly the kind of inning the Athletics had struggled to produce during their skid: traffic on the bases, aggressive running and a hit that cashed in both runners.
Tyler Soderstrom added a solo homer in the seventh, and Henry Bolte added another in the ninth to make it 7-2. The two long balls gave Jump and the bullpen some extra room before Boston mounted one last threat. McNeil, meanwhile, remained stuck on 999 career hits after drawing a walk and later flying out. He entered the game needing just one more to become the latest player to reach 1,000 while wearing an A’s uniform.
The final inning carried some tension. Jones doubled and scored on Durbin’s single. Willson Contreras then singled, Monasterio drew a walk, and the bases were loaded with two outs. Hogan Harris, who had entered in the eighth, got Eli White to line out to center and finished the 7-3 win for his tenth save. The Athletics’ bullpen allowed only one run over the final three innings after entering the game with the highest ERA in the majors.
There was also a piece of history at shortstop. Wilson entered the game with a 109-game errorless streak, one shy of the Major League record for a shortstop. He handled the position without a miscue and reached 110 straight games, tying the mark set by Baltimore’s Mike Bordick in 2002. For a team that had spent more than a week stacking losses, the afternoon finally delivered something worth carrying forward.
Sunday’s series decider will send J.T. Ginn (8-6, 3.51 ERA, 105 strikeouts) to the mound for the Athletics at 10:35 a.m. Pacific, while Boston had still not announced its starter as of publication.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
