Andruw Monasterio's 10th-inning home run lifts Red Sox past A's

Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald on Jul 30, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Scoring struggles nearly cost the Boston Red Sox one of their most winnable games of the season Wednesday night in Sacramento.

The guests out-hit the hosts 12-8, but neither team could capitalize with men on base until shortstop Andruw Monasterio’s two-run homer won the game for the Sox 4-2 in the 10th inning.

A’s starter Jacob Lopez yielded one earned run and one unearned run on seven hits. He issued two walks, struck out eight, and shut out the Sox until Jahmai Jones led off the fifth inning with a game-tying homer.

Being held scoreless until the fifth inning was déjà vu all over again for the Boston bats, who were shut out until the sixth in Monday’s series-opening victory and blanked until the eighth in Tuesday night’s loss. (They were also nearly no-hit by Dylan Cease on Saturday, but managed one hit late in the Toronto Blue Jays star’s complete-game shutout.)

Utility-man and Sacramento native Nick Sogard re-tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single, scoring Caleb Durbin, but the run was unearned thanks to third baseman Tommy White’s dropped foul pop error.

Patrick Sandoval had similar success. Solo home runs by catcher Jonah Heim and right-fielder Lawrence Butler were the only runs the A’s managed in five innings against the Red Sox starter. Sandoval allowed five total hits, walked two and struck out seven, throwing 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

Lopez racked up 19 swing-and-misses, Sandoval 18.

Boston’s offensive woes were amplified in the later innings, as they struggled to overcome the A’s bullpen, which entered the day with the worst relief ERA in the majors.

The Red Sox bullpen came into the contest with MLB’s best relief ERA, and continued to hold down the fort. Tyron Guerrero blew the A’s away 1-2-3 in the sixth, and Justin Slaten stranded two in the seventh.

A two-out fielding error by Monasterio prolonged Slaten’s bottom of the seventh. The pressure mounted as first baseman Jeff McNeil followed with a single and steal of second, but Slaten rebounded from a generous check-swing call by forcing White into an emphatic swinging strikeout to end the inning.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a four-batter eighth. A successful challenge by catcher Carlos Narvaez turned an 0-2 Ball 1 into a strikeout-looking for Carlos Cortes, and Henry Bolte’s force-out stranded Heim on first base.

But the Red Sox continued to go quickly and quietly. Romy Gonzalez’s groundout to McNeil left the bases loaded in the seventh, and brought Boston’s left-on-base total to 10.

Right-hander Elvis Alvarado plunked Monasterio to begin the top of the eighth. The Sox shortstop advanced to second on a balk, then watched as Alvarado and left-hander Brady Basso retired Sogard, Narváez and Jarren Duran in order.

It looked like more of the same in the top of the ninth. Basso opened with rapid-fire strikeouts for Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu. Willson Contreras and Durbin came through with back-to-back singles, but Gonzalez again made the inning-ending out.

Aroldis Chapman took the mound for his 900th career appearance, looking to force extra innings. Narvaez lost Boston’s second and final challenge, and Butler responded with a leadoff double that nearly left the ballpark.

Butler’s momentary pause, apparently to admire what he thought was a walkoff home run, may have cost the A’s the game.

Donovan Walton’s first-pitch sacrifice bunt advanced Butler to third. Chapman answered with swinging strikeouts of Jacob Wilson and McNeil to give the Red Sox another chance to bat.

Monasterio’s third hit of the night rewarded Chapman’s lockdown efforts. With Gonzalez beginning the 10th inning as the automatic runner on second, Monasterio blasted his farthest home run of the year, 428 feet to left center, to finally put the Red Sox on top.

McNeil began the bottom of the 10th on second, but remained rooted in place as Greg Weissert retired White, Tyler Soderstrom and Heim in order to complete the hard-fought win.

The Red Sox are 56-51, including 19-4 in July. They have not lost back-to-back games since June 30-July 1.