Walking the Plank: Boston Blows It Late, A’s Steal Finale
Chapman’s streak ends, Butler walks it off, the Sox choke another chance — cue up the horror show…
Game Recap: One of Those Nights
West Sacramento, CA — September 10, 2025. The Boston Red Sox were minutes away from a sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics. They had everything they needed — chances, momentum, bases loaded whispers — only to watch it all slip away when Lawrence Butler ripped a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, giving the A’s a 5-4 win. Boston loses the series 2-1.
Here’s how the afternoon derailed:
Top 1st: Shea Langeliers opens the scoring for Oakland with a leadoff solo home run off Payton Tolle. Boom. 1-0 A’s.
Top 2nd: Boston answers. Nate Eaton doubles, Masataka Yoshida scores, tying the game. Sweet. ESPN.com+1 But then comes Nick Kurtz, A’s rookie, launching a solo shot to retake the lead 2-1. Back and forth.
Top 3rd & 4th: The Sox go ahead. Trevor Story doubles one in, then Jarren Duran grounds out RBI-style. Boston up 3-2.
Bottom 5th: A’s fight back. Tyler Soderstrom delivers a two-run double, giving Oakland a 4-3 advantage. Boston can smell the sweep, but Oakland kicks.
Top 9th: Clinging to that one run, Boston claws back. Rob Refsnyder doubles off Elvis Alvarado, tying it 4-4. Cue the sighs of relief… temporarily. FOX
Bottom 9th: Ah, the baseball gods had other plans. Shea Langeliers doubles off Aroldis Chapman (yes, that Chapman, whose hitless streak of 50 batters over 17 appearances just went up in smoke). Langeliers advances, Butler steps up and laces a 100+ mph fastball for the walk-off single. Heartbreaker.
Player Highlights: Heroes, Villains & Unwanted Stars
Shea Langeliers (A’s) — Solo shot in the 1st, then the double in the 9th that ended Chapman’s streak. From silent to savage. Rookie with ice in his veins. ESPN.com+1
Nick Kurtz (A’s rookie) — Cranked his 30th of the season in the 2nd. Rookie home run club is exclusive; he just joined.
Rob Refsnyder (Red Sox) — Delivered the clutch double in the 9th to tie it. Did everything right until… see below.
Aroldis Chapman — God bless him, he held on so long. His hitless streak (17 appearances, 50 batters) was a super-tightrope walk. The double from Langeliers ended it, then the walk-off? Ouch. “Manager Alex Cora insisted the bullpen wasn’t the problem, which is technically true if you ignore reality.” But Chapman was that bullpen tonight.
Payton Tolle (Sox starter) — Tough outing. Gave up homers early, couldn’t hold in the middle. Needed length from him; got vulnerability.
Quotes & Commentary
After the game, reporters asked Chapman about the hitless streak ending. He mentioned something like: “I’ve got to get back to competing. Doesn’t matter what happened up until now.” Brave talk.
Cora, when asked if the bullpen “cost” them the game, said he believed the team played hard, but admitted the decision to leave Chapman in was risky. (Translation: yes, it cost them.)
Commentators noted that Boston trading away margin for error in tight games has become their pattern — wins depend on pitchers who can close, and tonight the closing act flopped.
Opponent Misfires: It Wasn’t Perfect for Oakland
Yes, the A’s stole one — but they weren’t flawless either:
They left 10 runners on base in key spots. If Boston had picked better at the plate earlier, that walk-off might never have been needed.
Some defensive miscues: sloppy outs, runners advancing when they shouldn't. Boston gave them opportunities. A’s made Chapman’s life harder than it needed to be.
And Camden Springs (starter for A’s in the 6-0 game previous night) had earlier been tagged; in this match, their starter wasn’t dominant, but they got what they needed in clutch spots. It’s not like they coasted to this one.
Red Sox Momentum Check: Not Looking Good
Boston falls to 81-66, having dropped this one after dominating the first two of the series.
They’re now three games back of Toronto in the AL East, still chasing that wild card. Every loss like tonight stings.
Yes, they show flashes: Refsnyder, Eaton, etc. But those flashes aren’t enough when your closer stumbles and you can’t finish the sweep.
Fenway faithful better hope this isn’t the start of another tailspin — September is cruel.
Future Outlook: Enough Rope to Hang On?
Next up: the New York Yankees roll into Fenway. Lucas Giolito is likely to start for Boston. If Sox want to stay in the race, they need a statement game — force the Yankees to sweat. But with the bullpen question mark looming, staying loose mentally is going to be as important as staying sharp physically.
Final Thought
You win some, you lose some. But when you should win, and then you don’t — that’s what kills you. Boston had that one. They had the sweep. They had the momentum. And they watched it slip away because one guy couldn’t get it done, because runners were left, because the snap-decision to trust past magic instead of present performance backfired.