Mike Leake got the ball in the top of the first inning and Andrew Benintendi greeted him by grounding out to second to begin. Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed on a pitch in the dirt but Rafael Devers inside outed a single in the hole at third. JD Martinez flied out to the warning track in left to end the inning. Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and once again the Mariners struck first. Mitch Haniger lined a full count single up the middle to begin before Domingo Santana whiffed on a high fastball. Haniger moved to second on a grounder to third by Edwin Encarnacion before Jay Bruce walked on four pitched not even close. Tim Beckham blooped a single to center to score Haniger to give Seattle the lead before Ryon Healy effortlessly doubled down the left field line to score Haniger. Somehow Rodriguez struck out Tom Murphy to end the inning but had thrown 31 pitches and was down 2-0.
The Sox wasted no time responding against Leake in the top of the second although Xander Bogaerts popped up harmlessly to right to start. Mitch Moreland got a lucky double when Santana fell down trying to make a catch before moving to third on the grounder by Blake Swihart. Jackie Bradley Jr poked a single to center to score Moreland to cut the lead. Brock "The Hitman" Holt drew a walk but tragedy struck when Benintendi fouled a ball off his own knee. Benintendi stayed in the game but whiffed to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Rodriguez blew away Dylan Moore to open the bottom of the second before Gordon grounded out to first without leaving the batter's box, believing he fouled the pitch off his foot. Home plate umpire Dan Bellino disagreed and the call stood. Haniger grounded out to second on a full count to end the inning.
The Sox tied it in the top of third inning although Mr. Mookie flied out to the left field warning track to start. Devers walked and stole second before scoring on the Martinez rocket into left. Bogaerts popped up to right and Moreland grounded out to third to end the inning but it was tied 2-2.
Mr. Mookie made a highlight reel running catch off a Santana line drive to right to begin the bottom of the third. Encarnacion singled in the hole at short but Bruce popped up to Devers. Beckham whiffed on a full count to end the inning.
Leake cruised in the top of the fourth inning as Swihart whiffed on a foul tip into the mitt to start. JBJ flied out to the left field warning track and Holt whiffed to end the inning. The Mariners re-took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Healy doubled into the right field corner to start. Murphy walked but Moore banged into a double play to put Healy at third. Right on cue Gordon poked an opposite field single over the head of Devers to score Healy with the go-ahead run. Gordon swiped second and took third when Swihart's throw hit him and rolled into left. The Sox caught a break when Haniger was rung up for strike three on yet another full count to end the inning with the Mariners up 3-2.
Benintendi tried to start a rally in the top of the fifth when Gordon overran a ground ball to start the inning. Mr. Mookie hit one up the elevator shaft before Devers hit a ground ball in the hole at short. The throw came to first and.....OUT! Not so fast! Alert Red Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call at first and it was overturned, safe at first. The rally ended as Martinez popped up to center and Bogaerts whiffed badly to end the inning. Rodriguez returned with 86 pitches on his arm and got hammered. Santana hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts. Bogaerts threw to first but Moreland threw his glove at the ball rather than catch it for another error. Right on cue Encarnacion effortlessly singled to left and Bruce easily smashed a 4,000 foot home run for the kill shot. Beckham walked on 5 pitches but Rodriguez ended his outing by getting Healy to pop up to left. FINALLY Cora lifted his starter after he allowed 6 runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Another garbage outing by a starter in this series. Heath Hembree came in and the attack continued as Murphy pounded a single to center. Moore was rung up on a questionable strike three call before Gordon lined out to Betts to end the inning with the Mariners up for good 6-2.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Moreland grounded out weakly to short to begin. Swihart whiffed badly but JBJ poked a lucky single to right. Naturally Holt watched strike three go by to end the inning. Hembree came back for the bottom of the sixth and got Haniger to ground out to third but Santana smashed a single to right. Hembre didn't even bother to look and Santana walked to second base with a steal. Somehow Encarnacion whiffed and Betts made yet another great running catch to rob Bruce to end the inning.
Leake was done after 6 solid innings and Brandon Brennan came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning. Benintendi whiffed badly, Mr. Mookie grounded out to third and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Tyler Thornburg made a mad dash to the mound to begin the bottom of the seventh inning and whiffed Beckham to start. Healy popped up to first but Murphy walked after falling behind 1-2. Moore whiffed to end the inning and Thornburg sprinted into the dugout and up the runway.
Martinez tried to start a rally with a leadoff single in the hole at short to start the top of the eighth, but Bogaerts killed the momentum by striking out. Moreland banged into a double play to end the inning. Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and got Gordon to ground out to second to begin. Haniger whiffed and Santana grounded out to third to end the inning. Good for the bullpen to keep the Mariners off the board, if only the offense didn't fall asleep.
Zac Rosscup came in to finish off the Sox in the top of the ninth. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Swihart and did manage to line a base hit to left but naturally JBJ whiffed on 3 pitches in the dirt. Eduardo Nunez pinch hit for Holt only to ground out to short. Benintendi drew a walk and Mr. Mookie looked to have grounded out to third to end it...but the throw went over everything into the dugout for an error that scored Vazquez and put runners in scoring position. Devers then hit a routine grounder to third as well only Moore booted it for another error to score Benintendi, put runners at the corners, bring the go-ahead run to the plate and chase Rosscup. Nick Rumbelow was brought in to face Martinez with the game on the line and he also hit a routine grounder to Moore. For the third consecutive play Moore booted it and threw the ball away allowing Betts to score and put runners at the corners again. Unfortunately Bogaerts took three straight strikes down the middle to end it with the Mariners surviving the scare 6-5.
Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. Not only was he 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts but he had the tying and go-ahead runs on in the ninth when he didn't take the bat off his shoulder to end it.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Christian Vazquez singled and scored as a pinch hitter.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Heath Hembree tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Tyler Thornburg pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Hector Velazquez pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Blake Swihart was 0 for 3 with an error and 2 strikeouts.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter
Eduardo Rodriguez got shelled for 6 runs in just 4 1/3 innings givng up 8 hits and walking 3.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 5 but scored a run.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 with an error but scored a run.
Brock Holt was 0 for 2 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
This is NOT a good start to the season. There are consequences to sandbagging spring training and this is one of them. It doesn't help the Mariners are already game ready after starting the season in Japan so they're hitting every piece of junk the rusty starters are throwing at them. Hopefully the Sox can get in gear tomorrow when "Slick" Rick Porcello goes for the Sox up against Wade LeBlanc at 4:00 PM at Safeco Field.
