Sele got the ball in the top of the first inning and Chris Stynes led off by watching strike three go by. Trot Nixon flied out to center and Carl Everett whiffed....but the ball got away from the catcher and Everett made a mad dash to first. Manny Ramirez flied out to center to end the inning. Flashbulbs went off everywhere as Nomo got the ball to face Ichiro to begin the bottom of the first. Nomo took the first battle as Ichiro grounded out to second to begin. Mark McLemore lined out to left but Edgar Martinez walked. John Olerud flied out to center to end the inning.
Troy O'Leary singled to open the top of the second but Jason Varitek whiffed on a hit and run, getting O'Leary thrown out at second. Shea Hillenbrand lined out to right to end the inning. Nomo was able to get Bret Boone to pop up to third to begin the bottom of the second before striking out Stan Javier. Tom Lampkin popped up to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third inning when Brian Daubach motored around for a rare triple to start. Mike Lansing did the honors with a sac fly to score Brian to give the So the lead. Stynes lined out to left and Nixon flied out to left to end the inning with Boston on top 1-0.
Nomo kept the lead in the bottom of the third as David Bell hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Carlos Guillen whiffed before Ichiro flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing against Sele in the top of the fourth as Everett grounded out to second to begin. Ramirez grounded out to short but O'Leary singled. Varitek hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. The Mariners tied it up in the bottom of the fourth as McLemore tripled and Martinez doubled in short order. Martinez moved to third on the fly out by Olerud but Nomo got Boone to ground out to third. Javier grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The inspired Sele stayed tough in the top of the fifth inning as Hillenbrand grounded out to short to begin. Daubach whiffed but Lansing doubled. Stynes grounded out to second to end the inning. The Mariners took the lead in the bottom of the fifth although Lampkin grounded out to first to begin. Bell whiffed but Guillen doubled. Ichiro was plunked and McLemore walked to load the bases. Sure enough Martinez singled home two runners to give Seattle the lead. Olerud whiffed to end the inning but the damage was done, 3-1 M's.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the sixth inning although Nixon singled to start. Everett struck out and Nixon was doubled off first on a Ramirez bullet to third on a hit and run to end the inning. Nomo returned for the bottom of the sixth and Boone grounded out to short to start. Both Javier and Lampkin whiffed to end the inning.
Sele returned for the top of the seventh and O'Leary flied out to center to begin. Varitek singled but Hillenbrand banged into a double play to end the inning. 7 innings and just 1 run allowed by Sele, nice work Sox....not.
The Mariners iced the game in the bottom of the seventh after Nomo walked Bell to begin. Sox manager Jimy Williams went with Derek Lowe to stop the bleeding and Guillen dropped a bunt down to get Bell to second. Ichiro lit up the crowd with a triple that scored Bell and put the game out of reach. McLemore hit a routine ground ball to Stynes who decided to kick it over to first like a field goal, Mark reaching on the bizarre error and Ichiro scoring. McLemore stole second then moved to third on the grounder by Martinez. Olerud was intentionally walked before Boone lined out to third to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 5-1.
Sele returned for one more inning but Daubach sent him to the showers with a base hit. Mariners manager Lou Pinella brought in Jeff Nelson to relieve him and Lansing flied out to left to begin Stynes erased Daubach at second with a force and that was it for Nelson. Arthur Rhodes came in and got Nixon to ground out to second to end the inning. Lowe returned for the bottom of the eighth and whiffed Javier to start. Lampkin hit one up the elevator shaft and Bell grounded out to short to end the inning. Lord knows why Lowe was brought in so early or why he couldn't pitch like this in the seventh.
Mike Cameron took over in center as the Sox came to bat in the top of the ninth. Everett grounded out to second and Ramirez whiffed. O'Leary lined out to short to end the game. The Mariners had won it 5-1.
Jackass of the Night is a tough one considering everyone was incompetent today but I gotta go with Chris Stynes. Not only was he 0-4 and failed to drive in Lansing, but his error led to the insurance runs scoring.
The Good:
Troy O'Leary was 2 for 4.
Jason Varitek was just 1 for 3.
Brian Daubach was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Mike Lansing was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
The Bad:
Carl Everett was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Manny Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Shea Hillenbrand was 0 for 3.
Derek Lowe allowed 2 inherited runners to score and one of his own in 2 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 4.
Hideo Nomo took the loss but pitched reasonably well. The error and Derek Lowe's relief certainly didn't help but he gave up 4 runs in 6 plus innings while striking out 6.
Final Thoughts:
Well this kind of game better steam Jimy Williams' clams. They couldn't do anything right against Sele or the offense. Derek Lowe is struggling hard this season and Jimy just can't seem to stop trusting him when it matters. I don't know what is with Lowe but he's clearly not the pitcher he was last year. The offense will be fine, it was just one of those days. The problem is the Sox can't afford to lose too many games with not only the New York Yankees but Toronto Blue Jays breathing down their necks. Remember the Blue Jays were in first place all the way into July last year so they're no pushover. The loss dropped the Sox to 17-10, tied for first place with the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to bounce back against the Mariners with Frank Castillo (3-1) going for the Sox up against another old pal, Jamie Moyer at 10:05 PM Eastern time at Safeco Field.
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