Red Sox 5, Athletics 4: Abreu and Contreras Homer Back-to-Back in Eighth

Two pitches, two homers, one comeback

July 30, 2026 – West Sacramento – Luis Medina threw a changeup to Wilyer Abreu with Boston trailing 4-3 in the eighth. The ball left the yard, 422 feet of equalizer.

Medina threw the next pitch to Wilson Contreras. That one left too.

Back-to-back homers on consecutive pitches flipped a one-run deficit into a 5-4 lead. The Boston Red Sox held on to beat the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, another late rally in a stretch full of them.

Gray worked long enough for the lineup to wake up

Sonny Gray went seven innings for his 13th win. He allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks. It was not his cleanest night of a 13-2 season, and it did not have to be. Gray gave Boston length after his worst start of the year and left the bullpen with a chance if the bats finally pushed.

They needed that chance. The A's led 3-0 before Boston tied it in the fifth against Mason Barnett. Andruw Monasterio singled. Ceddanne Rafaela ripped a two-out, two-run double. The deficit was gone, and the game was back to even terms.

Lawrence Butler kept manufacturing for Sacramento. He doubled to lead off the sixth, moved to third on a flyout, and scored on Carlos Cortés's short sacrifice fly for a 4-3 Athletics lead. Butler finished with two hits and two runs. Jacob Wilson added two hits and an RBI. The home club did enough to lead into the late innings. It did not do enough to survive Medina's next two pitches.

Barnett set the table. Medina cleared it the wrong way.

Barnett lasted five innings in his second start since a July 22 recall. Three runs. Four hits. Competitive enough that Sacramento still led after six. The eighth asked the bullpen to protect a one-run edge against a Boston lineup that has made a habit of winning from behind.

Eight of Boston's last 12 wins have required a comeback. Thursday became the latest entry. Abreu's 16th homer tied it. Contreras's 23rd put the Red Sox ahead. Two swings. No outs recorded between them. Medina never got a chance to reset the inning.

Greg Weissert retired three batters. Aroldis Chapman worked around a one-out double in the ninth for his 26th save. The Red Sox have now won 23 consecutive games when scoring four or more runs. That streak survives nights like this because the eighth inning keeps bailing them out.

AthX Engine liked Boston's late punch and Gray's length

AthX Engine (AthX's projection and scoring system) gave Gray 11 pitching fantasy points for seven innings and the win. Contreras scored 8 hitting FP on the go-ahead homer. Boston's team total of 9 FP sat in a four-way tie for third on the slate, well clear of Sacramento's 2.

Fantasy points track the performance board. Share prices also move with market activity through dynamic pricing. Back-to-back homers show up as counting stats and FP. They do not automatically set a marketplace price.

Boston leaves California with a statement win

The Red Sox improved to 57-51 and head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers with Ranger Suárez. The Athletics fell to 45-64 and open next against Detroit with Jeffrey Springs.

Gray, the A's first-round pick in 2011, beat his old organization the hard way: four runs allowed and still the winning pitcher because Boston's middle of the order saved the night on consecutive pitches.

That is how contenders steal road series finales in July. Not pretty. Just loud enough when it counts.

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*Sources: MLB.com Gameday final, ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*