Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a much welcomed roster move. Long time shortstop/third basemen John Valentin was activated off the Disabled List after missing the last year after blowing his knee out almost a year ago. Whether or not he'll be the same player he was two years ago is anyone's guess but he's automatically an upgrade over who he replaced. Offensively challenged Craig Grebeck was placed on the Disabled List with left shoulder tendonitis to mercifully get him out of the lineup. With the Sox struggles at third since Valentin went down, its good to see Valentin back.
As for the game, not only did the Boston Red Sox lose the game to the Seattle Mariners, they lost Chris Stynes to a horrific facial injury. In an eerily similar event to Bryce Florie getting hit in the face with a line drive last September, this time it was the opposite as Stynes took a fastball to the face by old friend Aaron Sele. It was a game for a while but eventually the Boston Red Sox bullpen melted at the hands of the Mariners. Sox starter Frank Castillo lasted just 5 innings and Rolando Arrojo (1-1, 3.57 ERA) got hammered for 5 runs in the eighth inning which led to a 10-5 victory for the Mariners at Fenway Park.
Castillo got the ball in the top of the first inning and got hammered. Ichiro Suzuki singled to start and immediately stole second. Stan Javier walked but Edgar Martinez popped up to short right. John Olerud walked to load the bases and Bret Boone drilled a two run single to put the Mariners up early. Al Martin grounded out to second and David Bell flied out to right to end the inning with the Mariners up 2-0.
The Sox tried to fight back against Sele in the bottom of the first although Trot Nixon flied out to left. Jose Offerman singled to center but Carl Everett flied out to center. Manny Ramirez walked but Troy O'Leary grounded out to second to end the inning.
Castillo cruised in the top of the second as Dan Wilson popped up to right, Carlos Guillen flied out to right and Ichiro popped up to third to end the inning. Things got scary in the bottom of the second as Jason Varitek flied out to right to start. Shea Hillenbrand flied out to left but Chris Stynes was hit in the face with a fastball by Sele. Stynes face immediately was bloodied and swollen as he was removed from the game. Brian Daubach ran for Stynes and Mike Lansing grounded into a force to end the inning.
Stynes helped off the field after the beanball
Offerman moved to second with Daubach taking over at first as the Mariners poured it on in the top of the third. Javier flied out to left and Martinez flied out to center but Olerud was plunked. Boone singled Olerud to third and Martin singled him home. Bell singled Boone home and Wilson whiffed to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 4-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Nixon whiffed, Offerman grounded out to first and Everett flied out to left to end the inning.
Castillo struggled in the top of the fourth inning as Guillen hit a routine grounder to Daubach who went OLE! for an error. Guillen was erased on the Ichiro force and Ichiro swiped second. Javier flied out to center but Martinez walked. Ichiro swiped third but Olerud popped up to center to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the fourth when Ramirez and O'Leary smashed back to back jacks to cut the lead in half. Varitek whiffed, Hillenbrand grounded out to short and Daubach grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.
O'Leary hits one out
Boone hit a routine grounder to Hillenbrand to open the top of the fifth but Shea threw himself on the ball and swam on it for an error. Castillo got Martin and Bell to fly out to center but Wilson singled. Guillen popped up to third to end the inning. That was it for Castillo who lasted just 5 innings and allowed 4 runs.
Not his best work
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Lansing grounded back to the mound to start. Nixon looked at strike three before Offerman popped up to third to end the inning.
Rich Garces was first out of the pen in the top of the sixth inning and Ichiro grounded out to second to begin. Javier singled to left and stole second but Martinez popped up to left. Olerud popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the sixth as Everett doubled and Manny singled him home to cut the lead to one. Arthur Rhodes came in for Sele and punched out both O'Leary and Varitek. Hillenbrand singled but Daubach lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.
Manny gets a run back
The Mariners tagged Garces in the top of the seventh after yet another error when Lansing booted a grounder by Boone to start. Martin popped up to second but Bell doubled into the corner to score Boone with an un-earned run. Wilson flied out to left and Guillen whiffed to end the inning but it was 5-3 Mariners.
The Sox answered back in the bottom of the seventh when Lansing doubled and Nixon croaked his third home run of the season to tie the game. Offerman looked at strike three and Everett flied out to center before Jeff Nelson was brought in. Manny hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Nixon ties it up
Just as soon as the Sox clawed back into the game, the Mariners exploded to end it in the top of the eighth with Rolando Arrojo on the mound. Ichiro grounded out to second but Javier singled. Martinez hit one up the elevator shaft but Olerud doubled home Javier to put Seattle up for good. Boone was hit with a pitch before Martin singled home Olerud. Bell singled home Boone and Wilson doubled home Bell to chase Arrojo and ice the game. Pete Schourek came in and walked Guillen but Ichiro flied out to center to end the inning with the Mariners up for good 10-5
Olerud hits the kill shot
Charles Gipson came in for Martin in the bottom of the eighth and O'Leary whiffed to start. Varitek grounded out to second but Hillenbrand and Daubach stroked back to back singles. Scott Hatteberg pinch hit for Lansing and whiffed to end the inning.
John Valentin came in for Hatteberg to play short in the top of the ninth in his first game action since blowing his knee out almost one year ago as Javier singled to start. Martinez lined out to left before Olerud banged into a double play to end the inning. Jose Paniagua came in to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth and he punched out Nixon to start. Offerman walked, Everett singled and Manny walked to chase Paniagua. Kazuhiro Sasaki came in and got O'Leary to bang into a double play to end the game. The Mariners had won it 10-5 at Fenway.
Jackass of the Night is Rolando Arrojo. He allowed 5 runs in less than an inning to take the loss
Arrojo is the Jackass
The Good:
Carl Everett was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Manny Ramirez was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a home run, and 2 total rbis.
Shea Hillenbrand was 2 for 4.
Chris Stynes was hit with a pitch before leaving the game.
Brian Daubach was 1 for 3.
Mike Lansing was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Pete Schourek tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jason Varitek was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Frank Castillo was lit up for 4 runs in just 5 innings. He gave up 6 hits and 3 walks.
The Ugly:
Trot Nixon was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a two run home run.
Jose Offerman was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
Troy O'Leary was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a solo home run.
Honorable Mention:
John Valentin played short in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That game sucked. It wasn't just Arrojo who sucked but the defense did as well. You can't expect the offense to score 10 runs but keeping the other team from scoring 10 would be nice. Castillo didn't have it and a rare blunder led to an unearned run charged to Garces. All those factored in when the Mariners lit up Arrojo for the decisive margin. Bad games happen and I'm sure Arrojo and the bullpen will bounce back...but not tonight. Losing Stynes really hurt because he was hitting the ball very well before he went down and Valentin coming back would have shored up the defense even more. Hopefully Stynes won't be out for too long but its a damn shame he got hurt like this. The loss dropped the Sox to 20-14 on the season, 0.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to gain momentum against the Mariners when they send Tomo Ohka (2-1) to the mound up against John Halama at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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