Mickey Gasper’s Historic Hot Streak Continues as Red Sox Beat Mariners in 10 Innings

Mickey Gasper keeps making the Boston Red Sox look like geniuses for holding onto him. The 30-year-old utility man launched a go-ahead solo home run in the first inning Monday night, his seventh homer in his last 13 games, and Boston needed every bit of it in a wild 9-8, 10-inning win over the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. Gasper was in the starting lineup at first base and batting second, just one day after being recalled from Triple-A Worcester for the second time in three weeks.

The Red Sox brought Gasper back up on August 31 after placing first baseman Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, mirroring the exact scenario that triggered his first recall on August 16, when Masataka Yoshida landed on the IL with the same injury. A waiver-claim pickup who spent parts of his career grinding through the minors as a catcher, Gasper has turned two injury-driven opportunities into the story of Boston’s summer, doing damage everywhere from behind the plate to first base, second base and the corner outfield.

A Stretch Unlike Almost Anything in Red Sox History

Since his August 16 call-up, Gasper has hit .476 with five home runs, three doubles, six walks and just one strikeout across his first 29 plate appearances back in the majors, an eye-popping .621 on-base percentage paired with a 1.333 slugging mark. Over his most electric seven-game stretch, Gasper posted a 2.208 OPS, a number that ranks sixth all-time among any player’s seven-game span in MLB history, trailing only Barry Bonds, Shawn Green, Bryce Harper, Babe Ruth and Josh Hamilton. That places him ahead of names like Ted Williams, Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa on that specific leaderboard, a stunning company for a player who was optioned to Worcester as recently as this summer.

Monday’s homer, a solo shot off Mariners starter Bryan Woo, tied the game 1-1 in the first inning after Julio Rodriguez had put Seattle ahead with an RBI double. Boston pulled away late thanks to a two-run homer from Jarren Duran, but Seattle rallied to force extra innings before Trevor Story delivered the walk-off single with the bases loaded in the 10th. Gasper’s blast was part of a lineup that has carried a Red Sox club playing its best baseball of the season, with Boston now riding one of its hottest 54-game stretches in franchise memory.

What Comes Next for Gasper and the Red Sox

The bigger question is how long Gasper sticks around once Contreras and Yoshida are healthy again, given how the Red Sox roster crunch has already sent him up and down twice this season. Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were all rehabbing in Worcester and nearing returns during Gasper’s first stint, and similar roster pressure looms again. For now, manager Alex Cora has little choice but to keep running him out there — Gasper is hitting .281/.367/.477 in 42 career games at the big-league level, numbers buoyed almost entirely by these two red-hot recalls.

Boston’s surprising playoff push has become one of the sport’s most compelling storylines, and Gasper’s improbable emergence is a major reason bettors have taken notice of the Red Sox as a live team down the stretch. Fans tracking Boston’s odds to make a run can find current lines through the DraftKings promo code page, while those looking for a deeper breakdown of betting markets around the American League race can check out the Expected Value calculator to see how the numbers stack up. With Seattle and Boston set to continue their series this week, Gasper’s bat looks like it will remain squarely in the middle of the action.