Jump gets first start out of break for Athletics

This was a candidate for game of the year so far. Down 4-0 before coming up in the first inning, the White Sox hung around, mounted a huge comeback in the eighth, and eked out a win with a walk-off hit in the 12th. Murakami was a huge part of that eighth inning rally hitting back-to-back home runs with Sam Antonacci and tying this game up. He also scampered home as the ghost runner in the 11th when the Yankees tried to back-pick him at third in an awful play. After needing a beat to get his timing back, Murakami now has three home runs and an .888 OPS in 15 games since returning from the injured list. That’s also come with a nearly 41% strikeout rate.

Martin did not get off to a good start in this game. With one out in the first, he allowed a double, walk, single, and then three-run home run to cap off a four-run first inning for the Yankees. He righted the ship after that though with five scoreless frames. That helped open the door for what became a thrilling comeback win for the White Sox. Back to Martin, his command came back to him after that rough first inning and the Yankees never challenged him after it. It’s been a rough few months relative to his outstanding April and May, but this was a potential step in the right direction. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up, first against the Red Sox in Fenway and then the Guardians back at home.

Spencer Jones truthers stand up! Well, not really. He socked a three-run homer in the first inning and then a 111 mph single in the sixth. After that single, he stole second base too. That’s three home runs and two stolen bases through 95 plate appearances this season, which is enough to make him intriguing in deeper leagues. Especially with Cody Bellinger out until September and Jones’ opportunity to grab regular playing time depending on whether or not the Yankees acquire an outfielder ahead of the trade deadline. Just be advised that he still has a 40% strikeout rate and that’s unlikely to improve much given his track record in the upper minors.

Schlittler was utterly dominant over the first six innings of this start. To that point, he had faced just one batter over the minimum and thrown only 77 pitches. It looked as if he’d easily cruise through seven or even eight innings if things broke right. Then, Munetaka Murakami fought hard for a seven-pitch walk to start the seventh and Schlittler plunked Miguel Vargas on the very next pitch. Andrew Benintendi hit a run-scoring double two batters later that chased Schlittler from the game and set the table for a huge comeback win by the White Sox. Nevertheless, he forced 18 swings-and-misses in yet another fantastic start. Rather than deploying his usual fastball-forward repertoire, Schlittler threw a season-high 20% curveballs. It was up to 88 mph – three ticks higher than its season average – and forced seven whiffs on eight swings. It’s just another potentially lethal wrinkle Schlittler can add to his game on the way to the American League Cy Young award. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Cardinals and Braves.

Gulp. Hopefully, Kurtz will prove to be fine after being hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s game. If not, the A’s would probably recall Max Muncy and put him at third and Tommy White at first for now.

Monasterio led off the 10th with his sixth homer of the year. There was certainly no plan for him becoming Boston’s starting shortstop at the beginning of the year, but he’s been quite valuable in hitting .259/.320/.459 in 204 plate appearances. Barring a big trade acquisition, he should continue to play regularly until Trevor Story returns and maybe beyond that.

The runs both came on solo homers. Sandoval allowed only three other hits and finished the night with 18 whiffs and a fine 36 percent CSW. In four turns to date, he’s done a nice job of keeping the Red Sox in games without showing a ton of fantasy potential. He has a 3.32 ERA and a 20/6 K/BB in 19 innings. That has yet to get him a win, but Boston is now 4-0 with him on the mound. He’ll likely face the White Sox next week.

The Red Sox used Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock in regulation, so Weissert was handed the 10th and wound up with his sixth career save in 207 relief appearances. He’s been plagued by inconsistency this season, which is why he was mostly used with the Red Sox down in games early on. However, with the team streaking, he’s managed three wins and now a save while making all 10 of his appearances in victories this month.

The unearned run was kind of sneaky. Third baseman Tommy White dropped an easy foul popup from Romy Gonzalez with none out and one on. Gonzalez went on to fly out to right, seemingly erasing the error from the scoring, but Caleb Durbin tagged up from first on the play and made it to second, which is something that obviously wouldn’t have happened in the foul pop had been caught. Durbin later scored from second on a Nick Sogard single, so the run was unearned. Lopez’s eight strikeouts were a new season high. He did that eight times in 21 outings last year, but he’d topped out at six in 13 starts and three relief appearances this season. His ERA still stands at 5.79, but this makes three decent showings in a row. He’ll face the Reds next.

Butler got lucky in the bottom of the ninth, when he thought his opposite-field double was a walkoff homer off Aroldis Chapman and he waited several seconds to start running. Fortunately for him, the ball bounced far enough away after hitting the wall that he made it to second anyway. It still was a nice showing offensively. His homer off Patrick Sandoval in the fifth was his first since June 19, and he had two extra-base hits for the first time in a game this season. He’s batting .204/.306/.320 in 311 plate appearances, but his seven-year, $65.5 million contract ensures that the A’s won’t give up on him.