Red Sox reactions: Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu turn 8th-inning deficit into comeback win

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WEST SACRAMENTO — Instant reactions from the Red Sox' 5-4 win over the Athletics on Thursday at Sutter Health Park:

1. The Red Sox won their seventh consecutive series, taking the four-game set, 3-1. Boston improved to 57-51 while the A’s dropped to 45-64.


2. Boston trailed 4-3 entering the eighth inning. But Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras led off the eighth with back-to-back home runs off A’s reliever Luis Medina, making it 5-4 Boston. Abreu’s home run, his 16th, went 422 feet to center field. Contreras’ home run, his 23rd, went 414 feet to center field.


3.Red Sox starter Sonny Gray tossed seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five. He improved to 13-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 20 starts.

4.Anthony Seigler gave Gray help with some strong defense. He dived at full extension to his right side to catch Jeff McNeil’s ground ball in the second inning. Seigler stood up quickly and fired to first base for the final out of the inning. Seigler made another nice play to his right on Tyler Soderstrom’s 109.4 mph ground ball for the first out of the fifth inning.

5. Greg Weissert allowed a single to lead off the eighth inning but he then got Tommy White to ground into a 6-4 double play. Weissert threw a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman closed it out in the ninth after he allowed a 406-foot double to Alika Williams with one out. He struck out Colby Thomas looking and Nick Kurtz swinging.

6. Boston fell behind 1-0 within the first three innings in each game this series. Jacob Wilson’s RBI single off Gray in the third inning made it 1-0. Gray fell behind 3-0 in the fourth inning on Lawrence Butler’s RBI double and Donovan Walton’s RBI single.


7. Andruw Monasterio made his third error of this four-game series at shortstop during the third inning. He’s a nice complementary piece, but the Red Sox would be smart to acquire a starting shortstop before Monday’s trade deadline.

8. While Monasterio has struggled defensively, he again came through on offense. His one-out RBI single in the fifth cut the Red Sox’ deficit to 3-1. He entered Thursday batting .357 (20 for 56) with a .439 on-base percentage, .679 slugging percentage and 1.118 OPS in July.

9. Ceddanne Rafaela tied the score 3-3 with a two-run double down the left field line in the fifth inning.

10. Oakland went ahead 4-3 on a sac fly in the sixth inning right after Boston failed to deliver with two runners in scoring position and one out in the top half of the inning. Caleb Durbin sacrifice-bunted Contreras and Masataka Yoshida into scoring position after their back-to-back singles to begin the sixth inning. But Jarren Duran flied out to shallow left field and Monasterio struck out swinging.


11. Duran seemed to yell something to either third base coach Chad Epperson or Contreras (the runner at third base). He appeared to be upset Contreras didn’t attempt to score on his 245-foot fly ball to left field.

12. A’s right-hander Mason Barnett made his first start of the season and held Boston scoreless through the first four innings. But Boston scored three times against him in the fifth inning to tie the game 3-3. Barnett’s five innings marked his longest outing this season. He has pitched two or fewer innings in 12 of his 14 relief outings this year.

13. The Red Sox will open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET. Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.02 ERA) will start for Boston. LA has not yet named a starting pitcher.

• BETTING: The over/under is currently set at 8.5 total runs on FanDuel for Friday’s interleague game between the Red Sox and the Dodgers. Our FanDuel Sportsbook review provides a complete guide on how to sign up and use their app.

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• State of the Sox: Trade deadline will help determine Craig Breslow’s legacy
• From Jason Varitek to Nate Eovaldi: The Red Sox All-Trade Deadline Team
• What Red Sox’ Jarren Duran, Willson Contreras said about gesturing-yelling incident; ‘Nothing personal’
• Red Sox injuries: Roman Anthony begins swinging (and team gives update on trade addition)

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