Daisuke Matsuzaka gave the Red Sox eight strong innings of 3-hit ball but unfortunately that wasn’t enough as the Mariners rallied in the 11th inning for a run and a 2-1 victory. The loss gave the Mariners a 3 game sweep of the Sox. It was also the 8th straight loss in Seattle for Boston.
Seattle got the winning run in the 11th inning off of Red Sox pitcher Joel Piñero. Piñero was believed to be not available after suffering a freak injury during warmups on Monday. Ichiro Suzuki worked a one out walk and came around to score the winning run when Jose Lopez hit a double just out of the reach of Manny Ramirez.
Dice-K retired the first seven batters he faced before Mariners catcher Jaime Burke hit a double to center just out of the reach of a diving Coco Crisp. Crisp appeared to aggravate his thumb but remained in the game. Ichiro followed with a single that knocked in Burke, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
Coco led off the 1st inning with a single off of M’s starter Ryan Feierabend but was thrown out stealing with Pedroia at the plate. Pedroia struck out and Big Papi flew out to end the inning. The Sox managed another hit in the 2nd inning when Mike Lowell doubled with two outs but he was stranded there when Jason Varitek struck out to end the threat.
Boston managed two more runners in the 3rd inning when Wily Mo Peña led off with a single. After Feierabend got two outs, Pedroia lined a single advancing Peña to second. Big Papi flew out to end another threat.
The Red Sox threatened again in the 5th inning when the slumping Julio Lugo worked a 2 out walk. Coco kept his hot hand at the plate when he hit a double down the line. Unfortunately for the Sox, it hit off a sidewall and bounced out. Had it not hit that sidewall, the Red Sox would have easily scored but instead had runners on second and third. Pedroia drew a walk, loading up the bases for Big Papi. Unfortunately Big Papi grounded out to second ending yet another threat for the Sox.
Meanwhile, Dice-K had really settled in and retired the next 10 batters he faced until Jose Vidro worked a lead-off walk in the 7th inning. Richie Sexson grounded into a double play and Ben Broussard grounded out to end the inning.
Back in the 6th inning, the Red Sox got their only run on the board. J.D. Drew, pinch-hitting for Wily Mo, led off the inning with a single. He advanced to second on a sacrifice by Lugo. Lugo was safe on an error from the pitcher Sean Green and Drew went to third base. Coco brought in Drew with a sacrifice fly, making it a 1-1 ballgame.
The Sox threatened in the 8th inning as Kevin Youkilis was walked by Brandon Morrow. He went to second on a passed ball by Burke. Lowell and Varitek both flew out. Instead of pitching to Drew, he was intentionally walked so the M’s could pitching to Lugo. It was a smart move by M’s manager Mike Hargrove as Lugo struck out swinging.
Jose Guillen led of the M’s half of the 8th inning with a single, only their third hit of the game. He was pinch-run for by the speedy Jason Ellison. Dice-K got Adrian Beltre to fly out for the first out of the inning. Yuniesky Betancourt fouled out to Youk at first for the second out. With Burke at the plate, Ellison stole second but Burke ended the inning by striking out. At this point in the game, Dice-K was done after 113 pitches.
Dice-K’s line: 8 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 8 strikeouts.
The Mariners brought in their closer J.J. Putz and he put the Red Sox down in order. It was a different story for the Mariners in their half of the 9th as Hideki “Darkman” Okajima uncharacteristically struggled. Ichiro reached on an infield single and went to second when Lopez laid down a sacrifice bunt. Vidro hit a single to short right field and Drew was able to keep Ichiro at third. Jonathan Papelbon came in for Darkman and got the job done. He came in and got Richie Sexson to foul out and Broussard to ground out.
In extra innings, the Sox could only manage a single by Varitek in the 11th inning but he was retired on a double play. Papelbon cruised through the 10th inning and we already know what happened in the 11th for the Mariners.
After a 4-5 road trip, the Red Sox finally head back to Boston for a nice day of rest. Tim Wakefield will take the ball on Friday as the Slammin’ Sammy Sosa and the Texas Rangers come to town for a 4-game set. Gametime is 7:05 on Friday night.
I am throughly expecting these type of pictures out of the Red Sox this weekend.
Actor Ken Watanabe was on the field before the game meeting with his fellow countrymen.
Curt Schilling probably won’t return to the Red Sox rotation until after the All-Star break.
Joel Piñero was supposed to be unavailable today after twisting his ankle on Monday in warmups.
J.D. Drew was supposed to have the day off to rest but pinch-hit for Wily Mo in the 7th.
Big Papi hasn’t hit a homer off a left-handed pitcher this season.
The Sox have one more roadtrip left before the All-Star game, a 3 day jaunt to Detroit.
Remdawg will be taking a spin around the track in Loudon with Carl Edwards as Friday is Roush/Fenway Racing Day. Carl Edwards will be at Remdawg’s before the game on Friday as will a few of the Roush/Fenway cars.
