Kenley Jansen blows save against Twins

Tolle didn’t get the victory, as Erik Miller and Garrett Whitlock combined to give the tying run in the seventh before the Red Sox went back ahead. Tolle, though, was the star today. He fanned four in a row to begin the game, and he went on to limit the Royals to four singles and one walk. His ERA is sitting at 3.02 through 25 starts. He’ll face the Rays next time out.

Chapman walked the first two batters he faced, only to strike out three in a row afterwards. Chapman is tied with David Bednar for fifth in the majors in saves. They’re six behind fellow AL East closer Bryan Baker.

The one run was on a 372-foot homer from Caleb Durbin that would have gone out in only four ballparks. It’s the sixth time in 10 starts that Cameron has allowed one or no runs. The Royals, though, went on to lose 4-1. Cameron remained 9-8 on the season, but the Royals are a rather incredible 0-12 in his no-decisions. He’ll face the Pirates next weekend.

Durbin picked up his 13th homer, his 18th steal and his 13th and 14th HBPs. He’s batting .250/.332/.386, which is a near match from his .256/.334/.387 line in Milwaukee last year.

Zack Gelof and Butler went back-to-back off Bryce Miller in the first. In the ninth, Gelof singled and then Butler homered off Andrés Muñoz, giving the A’s the win. It’s Butler’s fifth career two-homer game and first of this year. After a dismal first half, he’s hit .274/.354/.505 with 11 homers and 36 RBI in 54 games since the break.

Lopez allowed six hits and walked three before departing in the fourth. He’s given up nine runs in his last two starts after allowing only 15 runs and 13 earned in his previous nine starts. He’ll likely make his next start Saturday against the Guardians.

Alvarado kept the deficit at one run before Lawrence Butler hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth. Hogan Harris gave up a homer in the eighth today and was in line for the loss before the comeback. That’s definitely advantage Alvarado in the battle for saves going forward, but the A’s will continue to play matchups when appropriate.

Miller gave up back-to-back homers to Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler in the first. He went on to walk five afterwards, but he allowed no other hits and left with a 5-2 lead after five. That should have gotten him his first win since July 2, but then the Mariners pen gave up six runs in an 8-7 loss. Miller’s next outing is slated to take place in Coors Field on Saturday, though he might be piggybacking then if Emerson Hancock is deemed ready to throw a few innings.

Muñoz was forced into the game in the eighth today with one out and the tying run on third, and he stranded the runner by getting a strikeout and a popup. However, in the ninth, he gave up a single and a homer to the first two batters he faced, ending the game. It’s his 10th blown save and sixth loss, though he’s been quite good for three months now. He’ll certainly remain in the closer’s role for Seattle.

It’s the first time this year that Gelof has reached safely four times and the second time he’s scored three runs. Gelof homered in three straight games early this month, but even so, he came into this one hitting just .174/.262/.326 in his previous 24 games. He now has 18 homers in 99 games this year. That’s one more than he hit in 138 games two years ago.