The Seattle Mariners were hoping to stop their 14-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon with All-Star Rookie Michael Pineda. Things were looking good as they got two runs in the first.
But as they’ve done all season long, the offense for the Boston Red Sox made another good pitcher look bad when they got to him for five runs. From there it was almost smooth sailing the rest of the way in a 12-8 win to extend Seattle’s losing streak to 15 games.
The win for the Red Sox keeps them three games ahead of the New York Yankees and 9.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
Tim Wakefield‘s knuckleball looked like it needed to consult Google maps early on as he was having trouble finding the strike zone. And when he did at least in the 1st inning, the knuckler appeared flat. Seattle took advantage of that getting two runs on a Miguel Olivo home run.
Wake however settled down after that as he made some adjustments. Before allowing another run in the 5th, he allowed just one hit. He even picked up his 2000th career strikeout in a Red Sox uniform becoming just the second Red Sox player to accomplish the feat. Roger Clemens is the other. The funny thing about it was that Wake didn’t even know he had done it until his catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia told him as they were heading back to the dugout.
The 7th inning turned out to be Wake’s undoing though. Fortunately for him, the Red Sox held an 11-3 lead at the time.
After getting the first out of the inning, he gave up three straight singles. The last batter he faced for the day turned out to be Brendan Ryan who ended Wake’s outing with a grand slam. Despite giving up that grand slam, Wake left the game as he got his second standing ovation of the game. Only in Boston do you see that.
Normally the Red Sox offense does most of its collective damage in the 7th inning. Sure they got a run in the 7th yesterday but it was a five-run 1st inning and a five-run 5th inning that helped them to the win.
They jumped on Pineda early as Jacoby Ellsbury continued his tear at the top of the lineup with a double. After a Dustin Pedroia fly out, Adrian Gonzalez brought home Ellsbury with a single. The next batter, Kevin Youkilis, got the Red Sox in front for good with a two-run blast into the Green Monster. The Red Sox didn’t stop there though.
David Ortiz had a wall ball single and went to third on a Carl Crawford double. After Josh Reddick struck out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued his rise at the plate with a 2-run single.
They had more fun in the 5th when Gonzo reached on a one-out single. A walk to Youk would end Pineda’s afternoon. Aaron Laffey came in and struggled as he gave up an infield single to Big Papi. Crawford continued his hot hitting ways since returning from the DL with a two-run single which was followed by a Reddick single that scored Ortiz. Salty chased Laffey from the game with a double that brought in his third and fourth RBIs of the afternoon.
The only bad news of the day came after the game when it was reported that J.D. Drew will head to the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement. It’ll be interesting to see what the Red Sox do as far as calling somebody up to replace him. With Jon Lester returning from the DL tonight, they could just make the swap that way. Or they can also send Kyle Weiland down and possibly bring up Drew Sutton to provide a little outfield depth.
It’s definitely fun watching this team right now. It really doesn’t matter if they get behind early on as they have the utmost confidence in their offense to get themselves back from any deficit. And as a pitcher who might be struggling early, that can only help their confidence going forward. If a pitcher can keep them in the game, the offense and bullpen can definitely be relied upon to get the job done.
Since starting the season 2-10, the Red Sox are 60-27. Yes you are reading that right. Unreal huh? Just imagine the possibilities what their record would be like if they hadn’t started that way.
We’ll be back in a short while with this afternoon’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the morning. But for now, enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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A deadline catch: One year after deal, Saltalamacchia flourishes [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
High marks [Boston Globe]
Crawford contributes any way he can [Boston Globe]
All eyes to be on Lester tonight [Boston Globe]
Red Sox pound 17 hits to sink lowly M’s to new depths [Boston Herald]
Setting a torrid pace [Boston Herald]
Red Sox on course for history [Boston Herald]
Carl Crawford quick to recover [Boston Herald]
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is driving force with 4 RBI [Boston Herald]
2,000 K’s: Tim Wakefield odyssey [Boston Herald]
Red Sox explode at the plate to sweep M’s, 12-8 [CSNNE.com]
Drew (shoulder) headed to the disabled list [CSNNE.com]
Crawford finally coming around [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Wakefield gets strikeout No. 2,000 [CSNNE.com]
Wakefield on 2,000 K’s: ‘Pretty special’ [ESPN Boston]
Lester set to return; Drew to DL? [ESPN Boston]
Pedroia on Hall of Fame path? [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox interested in Ian Desmond? [Full Count]
Closing Time: Offense carries Sox to sweep of Mariners [Full Count]
How Tim Wakefield nearly missed his latest milestone [Full Count]
Lester on DL-induced rest: ‘Usually, you don’t feel this good’ [Full Count]
Terry Francona celebrates with a grilled cheese [Full Count]
Carl Crawford looks like himself again and Red Sox are pretty happy about it [Full Count]
Video: Tim Wakefield’s 2,000th Strikeout With Red Sox, Fenway Crowd’s Standing Ovation Gives Jarrod Saltalamacchia Goosebumps [NESN.com]
Video: Tim Wakefield Praises Terry Francona’s Character, Says He’s a Great Manager Who Gets Most Out of His Players [NESN.com]
Carl Crawford Benefiting From Recent Time Off, Making Early-Season Struggles a Distant Memory [NESN.com]
Tim Wakefield Enjoys Emotional Day at Fenway As He Becomes Second Pitcher in Red Sox History to Record 2,000 Strikeouts [NESN.com]
Video: Red Sox Pitching Coach Curt Young Says Jon Lester’s ‘Ready to Go,’ Will Likely Throw 80-85 Pitches in Return Start Monday [NESN.com]
Video: Dustin Pedroia’s Success in First Five Seasons Reminiscent of Hall of Fame Second Baseman Roberto Alomar’s [NESN.com]
Quantifying the defense of Ryan Lavarnway [Projo Sox Blog]
Sox just too hot to touch [Providence Journal]
Crawford’s bat showing signs of life [Providence Journal]
Retired Lowell starts small with coaching gig [Providence Journal]
Roster moves playoff driven [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: 2,000th strikeout a surprise to Wakefield [Providence Journal]
For the Red Sox, no sense in rushing to this deadline [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to The Oregonian, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Times and Tacoma Tribune websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, Mariner Mayhem.
Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images
43-59
62-38
43-57
For about seven innings with the Red Sox offense being shutdown by Mariners rookie