Brown actually pitched well to begin the top of the first as Jack Perconte popped up to short to start. Barry Bonnell singled to left but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Alvin Davis grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Seattle starter Matt Young in the bottom of the first inning. Marty Barrett led off with a double but Ed Jurak struck out. Dwight Evans drove home Barrett with a base hit to give the Sox the lead. Tony Armas singled but Mike Easler popped up to short. Dave Stapleton grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Pat Putnam walked to open the top of the second but Gorman Thomas popped up to first. Al Cowens flied out to center but Putnam swiped second. Coles grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the second as Reid Nichols grounded out to third to start. Both Jeff Newman and Jackie Gutierrez grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Mariners took the lead in the top of the third although Bob Kearney grounded out to short to start. Spike Owen grounded out to second but Perconte singled. Bonnell then struck a home run all the way to the Mississippi River to put the Mariners on top. Davis singled but Putnam struck out to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 2-1.
Barrett tried to rally the Sox with a base hit to open the bottom of the third but Jurak struck out. Barrett was thrown out at second trying to steal and Evans popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning.
Brown settled down in the top of the fourth as Thomas grounded out to first to start. Cowens grounded out to short and Coles struck out to end the inning. The Sox roared back in the bottom of the fourth as Armas and Easler walked to start the frame. Stapleton struck out but Nichols walked to load the bases. Newman scored Armas with a sacrifice fly to tie the game and Gutierrez put the Sox on top with a base hit. Barrett added the insurance run with a base hit but Jurak grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Kearney singled to open the top of the fifth but was forced at second by Owen. Perconte flied out to center but a wild pitch moved Owen to second. Bonnell grounded out to second to end the inning. Evans flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Armas struck out. Easler got a base hit but Stapleton flied out to right to end the inning,
Brown got the Mariners to beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the sixth inning. Davis and Putnam grounded out to second and Thomas grounded out to short to end the inning, The Sox blew a chance to break it open in the bottom of the sixth as Nichols walked to start Newman dropped down a bunt to move Reid to second but Gutierrez flied out to right. The red hot Barrett was intentionally walked and Jurak grounded into a force to end the inning,
The Mariners took advantage of shoddy defense to tie the game in the top of the seventh. Cowens hit a routine grounder to Jurak who kicked the ball over to first for an error. Coles was hit with a pitch and Kearney dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. Owen slapped a base hit to score both runners and tie the game. Owen swiped second but Perconte grounded out to short. That was it for Brown who never should have pitched to Owen. As it was Brown went 6 2/3 innings and allowed 4 runs. Bob Stanley came in and got Bonnell to ground back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
The Sox failed to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh as Evans flied out to right to start. Armas grounded out to second and Easler flied out to center to end the inning.
Stanley got Davis to fly out to left to start the top of the eighth before Putnam struck out. Thomas grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the eighth as Stapleton flied out to left to start. Nichols singled but Newman banged into a double play to end the inning.
Stanley struck out Cowens to begin the top of the ninth before Coles also struck out. Kearney grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox had their chance to score in the bottom of the ninth when Young threw a routine grounder by Gutierrez away. Ed Vande Berg replaced Young and Barrett forced Jackie at second....but Jurak banged into a double play to end the inning.
Stanley was brought out for the top of the tenth and ran out of gas. Owen and Perconte both grounded back to the mound but Bonnell singled. Phil Bradley pinch hit for Bonnell and clobbered a 2 run homer to put the Mariners up for good. Putnam flied out to center to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 6-4.
Mike Stanton came on to close out the bottom of the tenth and Evans flied out to center to start. Armas stepped up by bashing his 5th homer of the year to cut the lead. Paul Mirabella replaced Stanton and Easler singled to put the tying run on. Wade Boggs pinch hit for Stapleton but struck out. For some reason Bradley moved to left and Dave Henderson came in to play center for Seattle. Nichols got a base hit to put the winning run at first....but Newman grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox fought hard but the Mariners won it 6-5.
Jackass of the Night is Ed Jurak. He was 0 for 4 with 2 stirkeouts, leaving a ton of men on base. His error in the 7th led to the tying runs scoring.
The Good:
Marty Barrett was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Tony Armas was 2 for 4 with a walk, home run and 2 runs scored.
Mike Easler was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Reid Nichols was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
The Bad:
Dave Stapleton was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Wade Boggs struck out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Dwight Evans was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Jeff Newman was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Jackie Gutierrez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Mike Brown allowed 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings of work. He was in a few batters too late.
Bob Stanley took the loss by allowing 2 runs in 3 1/3 innings, also left in a few batters too late.
Final Thoughts:
This is one of the few times Ralph Houk didn't manage well in this game. Leaving in Brown and Stanley too long is one thing, but not pinch hitting Jeff Newman with Jim Rice or Jerry Remy with the game on the line is outrageous. Still, you have to make the plays with what you have and Stanley shouldn't be giving up home runs to ice cold pinch hitters. The offense once again did well all things considered but Jurak leaving men on all night and letting Newman bat in the 10th was abysmal. The underlying tones of bad pitching continue to haunt the Red Sox and its going to be a long season if this continues. The Sox look to bounce back as they hit the road in their next series. Tomorrow night the Sox travel to Chicago to face the White Sox. Dennis Eckersley (1-2) goes one on one with LaMarr Hoyt at 8:05 PM Eastern Time at Fenway Park.
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