As for the game, for seven innings it looked like yet another loss without any offense against an inferior team. Eduardo Rodriguez had held the Mariners to just one run but James Paxton pitched shutout ball. The Sox got a run in the top of the eighth on an unlikely Aaron Hill home run while Junichi Tazawa survived a scary bottom of the eighth. Mookie Betts then drilled a home run off Steve Cishek to put Boston on top in the ninth. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel, fresh off the Disabled List slammed the door in the ninth inning and the Sox had stolen one 2-1 at Safeco Field.
Paxton got the ball in the top of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to second to start. Dustin Pedroia took strike three and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Guillermo Heredia lined out to short to start. Leonys Martin struck out swinging and Robinson Cano grounded out to short to end the inning.
David Ortiz flied out to left to start the top of the second before Hanley Ramirez lined out to second. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to short to end the inning. Nelson Cruz struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Dae-ho Lee grounded out to short. Kyle Seager struck out swinging to end the inning.
Aaron Hill got a base hit to right to start the top of the third but Sandy Leon dumped a base hit to right. Brentz grounded into a double play to end the inning. Franklin Gutierrez walked to start the bottom of the third but Chris Iannetta took strike three. Shawn O'Malley hit a bullet that Rodriguez barely caught, doubling off Gutierrez at first to end the inning. That could have gone real bad, Rodriguez got lucky.
Mr. Mookie flied out to left to open the top of the fourth and Pedroia did the same. Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Heredia grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Martin did the same. Cano singled off the glove of Pedroia but Cruz flied out to right to end the inning.
Ortiz grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth but Ramirez drilled a base hit to right. JBJ took strike three and Hill lined out to center to end the inning. Lee struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Seager grounded out to second. Gutierrez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Leon struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth and Brentz did the same. Mr. Mookie doubled to left but Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning. Iannetta struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth but Shawn O'Malley interfered with Leon on a bunt attempt. Pedroia caught a pop up from Heredia to end the inning.
Bogaerts grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Ortiz grounded out to first. Ramirez took strike three to end the inning. The Mariners finally cracked Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh as Martin grounded out to second to start. Cano doubled to the right field fence, Cruz walked and Lee doubled to center to score Cano. That was it for Rodriguez who ran out of gas after allowing 1 run in 6 1/3 innings on 3 hits. Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch and Seager was hit to load the bases. Gutierrez and Iannetta both struck out swinging to end the inning with the Mariners up 1-0.
Rodriguez deserved better
The Sox answered in the top of the eighth as JBJ popped up to third to start. Hill then blasted his 9th home run of the season to tie the game. Leon hit one up the elevator shaft and Brentz struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and O'Malley flied out to center to start. Nori Aoki pinch hit for Heredia and singled to center. Aoki took second on a wild pitch then moved to third on the Martin grounder to first. Cano was intentionally walked and the gamble worked as Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the ninth with Steve Cishek now on the mound. Mr Mookie belted his 22nd home run of the year to put the Sox on top. Pedroia flied out to center and Bogaerts flied out to right to chase Cishek. Vidal Nuno came in to pitch to Ortiz and David grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Sox take the lead
The returning Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Seth Smith pinch hit for Lee. Smith grounded back to the mound and Seager swung and missed for strike three....but the ball got away allowing Kyle to reach first. Adam Lind pinch hit for Gutierrez and struck out swinging. Mike Zunino pinch hit for Iannetta and walked to put the tying run at second. O'Malley took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Hero of The Night is Mookie Betts. His home run in the ninth led the Sox to victory.
The Good:
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3.
Aaron Hill was 1 for 3 with a home run.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings.
Robbie Ross Jr got the final 2 outs of the seventh inning.
Junichi Tazawa got the win with a scoreless eighth inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 18th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.
David Ortiz was 0 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Bryce Brentz was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
None
Final Thoughts:
Two days in a row the Sox stole one in the ninth inning. While these kinds of win are fun, they're definitely not sustainable. Nobody knows what's wrong with the Red Sox offense although at least you can say James Paxton is pretty good. Still, the Sox have been unusually quiet offensively lately but winning games where they don't hit well is crucial as we head down the stretch. The Sox only have 58 games left and they're still in the AL East race. They're going to need to get the big bats back in order if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since winning it all in 2013. The win improved the Sox to 58-46, 1 game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Mariners tomorrow night when David Price (9-7, 4.26 ERA) goes one on one with Wade Leblanc of Seattle. The game begins at 10:10 PM eastern time at Safeco Field.
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