Aroldis Chapman allows first hits since July as Red Sox lose to Athletics

Entering Wednesday Aroldis Chapman hadn’t so much as given up a hit since July 23, a stretch of dominance covering 17 appearances. So when the veteran lefty got the ball after the Boston Red Sox tied the game in the top of the ninth, the club had to like its chances.

Unfortunately for Boston, it turns out Chapman is still human.

The All-Star closer allowed his first hits in nearly two months, including a walk-off single by Lawrence Butler that gave the Athletics a 5-4 win over the Red Sox.

The A’s rally came after Rob Refsnyder tied the game with an RBI double in the ninth, but also after the Red Sox had previously squandered a litany of early scoring opportunities.

The loss also denied the Red Sox a three-game sweep.

“Turn the page, it’s part of it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters postgame in Sacramento. “At one point (Chapman) was going to give it up and it just happened it was today.”

Boston initially got on the board in the top of the second after Nate Eaton hit a sky high pop-up down the right field line, which dropped in after Zack Gelof and Nick Kurtz collided, allowing a run to score.

Then in the third the Red Sox tied the game at 2-2 on an RBI double by Trevor Story.

The Red Sox could have gotten much more but stranded men at second and third in each inning. By the time the A’s came to bat in the bottom of the third the Red Sox were already 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

“Whenever you don’t score it’s going to get you somehow, someway,” Cora said. “We had our chances but we didn’t cash in.”

Boston eventually took a 3-2 lead on a run-scoring groundout by Jarren Duran in the fourth, but the Red Sox found themselves in a tight spot in the bottom of the fifth when right-hander Justin Slaten loaded the bases with one out. Slaten allowed a leadoff single, drew a flyout and then gave up a double and a walk, prompting Cora to hand the ball to left-hander Steven Matz.

Matz could not escape the jam, allowing a go-ahead two-run double to Tyler Soderstrom.

The Red Sox caught a break when A’s third base coach Eric Martins sent Butler on the play as well. He was easily thrown out at home, so instead of having two men on with one out, the A’s had one man at second with two outs, so when Kurtz subsequently sent a fly-ball to right, it was an inning-ending flyout instead of a sacrifice fly.

From there the bats were silent until the ninth.

David Hamilton led off the top of the ninth with Boston’s first hit since the fourth inning but was thrown out trying to steal second. That could have squashed any chances of a late rally, but Carlos Narvaez drew a walk and pinch runner Ceddanne Rafaela came around to score from first on Refsnyder’s double into the left field gap.

But the Red Sox quickly found themselves back in trouble when Shea Langeliers tagged Chapman for a leadoff double. He advanced to third with one out on an ensuing lineout, meaning the A’s only needed a fly ball to get the winning run home.

Butler did better than that, singling to right to give his team the win.

The Red Sox (81-66) will now have Thursday off before opening a crucial three-game series against the New York Yankees this weekend. Lucas Giolito is expected to get the ball for Friday’s opener, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.

Tolle’s quick day

Having already tossed more innings than he’s ever thrown in his life and making his first start ever on only four days rest, Payton Tolle was only expected to go once through the A’s lineup before giving way to the bullpen.

That turned out to be two innings.

Though he did not look as electric as he did in his MLB debut against the Pirates a couple weeks back, Tolle was sharper than he was last time out against the Diamondbacks. He struck out two, drew six whiffs and did not issue any walks, but two of the three hits he allowed were home runs.

Those were both solo shots by Langeliers and Kurtz, which were also each player’s 30th homer of the season.

Tolle’s next outing is expected to come next week against the A’s again at Fenway Park.

Harrison debuts

After spending the first three months of his Red Sox career in Triple-A, Kyle Harrison finally made his debut with the big league club on Wednesday.

Originally acquired in the Rafael Devers trade, the left-hander was called up for the series finale and entered Wednesday’s game in the sixth inning. The 24-year-old proceeded to toss three scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out two.

“He did a good job, good fastball, good command, great tempo. That was good to see,” Cora said. “He was very patient throughout the process and for him to go out there and give us a chance to win, that was awesome.”

While he served as a bulk reliever in his team debut, Harrison has been working as a starting pitcher and projects as a potential rotation option as early as next year. Since the Devers trade Harrison has posted a 3.75 ERA over 50 1/3 innings in 12 starts with the WooSox.

Ironically, his first big league appearance for Boston came at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, which was his home ballpark earlier this season while playing with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.

To clear space on the active roster for Harrison, the Red Sox optioned fellow lefty Chris Murphy to Triple-A.

Fall League rosters announced

One of the Red Sox’s top pitching prospects will headline this year’s Arizona Fall League participants, Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday.

Luis Perales, who ranks as Boston’s No. 8 prospect according to Baseball America and who is just completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery, is among eight Red Sox minor leaguers who will play for the Salt River Rafters in this year’s AFL.

The other participants are right-handers Jonathan Brand, Brandon Neely and Isaac Stebens, left-hander Jojo Ingrassia, catcher Johanfran Garcia and outfielders Nelly Taylor and Stanley Tucker.

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