OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Story had three hits and two RBIs and Wilyer Abreu scored the go-ahead run on a double-play grounder in the 11th inning, sending the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night in front of an announced crowd of 5,112.
Abreu began the 11th on second as the automatic runner. He advanced on Reese McGuire’s single and scampered home on Tyler O’Neill’s 5-4-3 double play against Mitch Spence (0-1).
Ceddanne Rafaela made a great running catch in center with one out in the bottom half, robbing Shea Langeliers of extra bases. Josh Winckowski (1-0) then fanned Lawrence Butler for the final out.
“That’s what we do now, we play a lot better defense, and we pitch a lot better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
“If it’s inside the ballpark we’re gonna catch it, and that was a great play.”
Winckowski struck out three in two innings. Five Red Sox relievers allowed two hits in six scoreless innings.
“That was unbelievable,” Winckowski said of Rafaela’s catch.
“I knew the hitter got a good chunk of it, but I was watching it turn and keep going to right-center, even farther and farther away from Rafaela, and the fact that he caught it was unbelievable.”
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Langeliers and JJ Bleday homered for Oakland.
The A’s played errorless ball after committing 13 miscues through their first five games.
“This one kind of hurts but you know what, these guys bounced back from last night and put that game behind them,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said.
“Obviously, all around, a much better performance tonight.”
Story hit an RBI double in the first to help the Red Sox jump out to a 2-0 lead. But Langeliers connected for a two-run homer against Brayan Bello in the second.
Bleday’s two-run shot in the third lifted the A’s to a 4-3 lead. But the Red Sox tied it in the seventh on Story’s run-scoring single.
Bello allowed five hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
A’s starter Alex Wood struck out seven in five innings. He was charged with three runs and six hits.
UP NEXT
Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (0-1, 1.50 ERA) and Oakland RHP Ross Stripling (0-1, 7.20 ERA) pitch on Wednesday.
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