The Boston Red Sox beat the Athletics 4-2 in 10 innings on Wednesday night in Sacramento. It was their 19th win in July against just four losses and their 27th in the last 34 games. At 56-51, the Red Sox have not lost back-to-back games since June 30.
The offense struggled to capitalize all night. Boston went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 men on base. They loaded the bases in the seventh and came away empty. They put two runners on in the ninth and got nothing across.
Patrick Sandoval gave Boston five innings of two-run ball, striking out seven and throwing 61 of 92 pitches for strikes. It was the kind of start that deserved a comfortable lead. He never got one.
What followed was a reminder of one of the Boston’s main strengths.
The Bullpen Refuses to Break
Five relievers combined for five scoreless innings. Tyron Guerrero set the tone with a clean sixth. Justin Slaten worked around a fielding error and a single in the seventh to escape with runners on the corners. Garrett Whitlock handled the eighth. Aroldis Chapman survived the most dangerous moment of the night in the ninth. Greg Weissert struck out two in the tenth to close it out.
After the game, Slaten did not hold back about what this relief corps has become.
“I truly believe we have the best bullpen in baseball,” Slaten said. “When everybody does their job, you feel really good as a unit.”
The numbers support the claim. Boston’s bullpen leads the majors with a 3.03 ERA on the season and has posted a 1.87 mark in July. Wednesday was not a surprise performance. It was the standard. On a night where the offense could not find a way to break through for most of the game, the arms behind Sandoval made sure the Red Sox were still standing when a big swing finally arrived.
GettySACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: Patrick Sandoval #43 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Athletics in the bottom of the third inning at Sutter Health Park on July 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Chapman’s Ninth-Inning Escape
The bottom of the ninth got uncomfortable. Chapman entered for his 900th career appearance with the score tied, and Lawrence Butler drove a ball to deep left-center that looked like it was leaving the yard. Butler thought so too. He paused to celebrate before the ball landed.
It hit the wall instead. Butler recovered and reached second. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third with one out. The go-ahead run stood 90 feet away.
Chapman struck out Jacob Wilson on three pitches, the last a splitter in the dirt. Then he got Jeff McNeil swinging at three consecutive offerings. Six pitches. Two strikeouts. Threat erased.
“Chappy, how many years in the league? And he’s still doing it,” Andruw Monasterio said. “That’s amazing.”
“Ice in his veins,” Sandoval added. “Guy on third with one out. Punch, punch. The guy’s incredible.”
GettySACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: Aroldis Chapman #44 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after striking out Jeff McNeil of the Athletics to end the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park on July 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Monasterio Delivers for the Red Sox After Error
Monasterio had reason to feel like he owed the team. His fielding error in the seventh nearly cost Slaten a run, and after the final out he apologized to Slaten in the handshake line. Then again in the clubhouse. And again after that.
“He apologized once in the handshake line and, like, three more times since I’ve been sitting here,” Slaten said. “I just keep telling him, ‘It doesn’t matter. We won the game. I was able to pick you up. And then you picked us up in the last inning.’ That’s what it’s about. That’s why we’ve been winning games.”
Monasterio picked everyone up in the tenth. With Romy González starting on second as the automatic runner, he crushed a two-run homer 428 feet to left-center off José Suarez. The longest ball he has hit all season, in the biggest spot of the night. The player who had the most to make up for delivered the swing that won the game.
Jahmai Jones and Sacramento native Nick Sogard, playing his first game back in the majors, had driven in the only two runs of regulation. But the night belonged to the bullpen and the shortstop who rewarded their effort.
GettySACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: Andruw Monasterio #32 of the Boston Red Sox hits a two-run home run against the Athletics in the top of the 10th inning at Sutter Health Park on July 29, 2026 in Sacramento, California. The Red Sox won the game 4-2. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Final Word for the Red Sox
The offense will have nights like Wednesday. The bats will go quiet. Runners will get stranded. Opportunities will slip away.
This team keeps winning anyway because the pitching staff absorbs every one of those nights and holds the line until somebody comes through.
Chapman in the ninth. Monasterio in the tenth. With the best bullpen in baseball filling every inning in between.
That is why the Red Sox are 19-4 this month. That is why this month has looked the way it has.
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