Things looked to start out ok in the top of the first when Mr. Mookie Betts singled but Andrew Benintendi banged into a double play. JD Martinez struck out to end the inning and the Sox would have just 1 hit the rest of the game.
Wright got the ball in the bottom of the first and Dee Gordon lined out to left to begin. Jean Segura grounded out to second but Mitch Haniger walked. Nelson Cruz whiffed to end the inning.
LeBlanc dominated the top of the second as Rafael Devers grounded out to second, Xander Bogaerts whiffed and Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning. Wright tried to keep pace in the bottom of the second as Kyle Seager grounded out to short and Ryon Healy grounded out to third but Denard Span singled. Mike Zunino looked at strike three to end the inning.
Nothing happened in the top of the third as Blake Swihart looked at strike three to start before Christian Vazquez flied out to right. Jackie Bradley Jr also flied out to right to end the inning. The Mariners got their only rally in the bottom of the third although Guillermo Heredia whiffed to start. Gordon singled but Segura flied out to center. Haniger and Cruz stroked back to back singles to score Gordon Seager grounded out to first to end the inning with the Mariners up 1-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the fourth inning as Mr. Mookie looked at strike three to start. Benintendi flied out to left but Martinez watched strike three go by to end the inning. Wright matched LeBlanc in the bottom of the fourth as Healy flied out to right to begin. Span grounded out to first but Zunino lined out to right to end the inning.
Devers lined one back to the mound to begin the top of the fifth before Bogaerts was called out on a bang bang play at first. Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call but New York Yankees manag....errr Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre said the call stood. Nunez grounded out to second to end the inning. Heredia grounded a ball to Devers to start the bottom of the fifth but Rafael turned and threw the ball into the centerfield bleachers for an error. Heredia was erased on the Gordon force before Segura whiffed. Gordon was gunned down at second by the alert Vazquez to end the inning.
Still nothing going on in the top of the sixth as Swihart grounded out to second to begin before Vazquez whiffed. JBJ looked at strike three to end the inning. Wright stayed tough in the bottom of the sixth as Haniger flied out to right and Cruz lined out to left, but Seager singled. Healy flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox still couldn't crack LeBlanc in the top of the seventh as Mr. Mookie whiffed to start. Benintendi grounded out to second and Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning. Span walked to start the bottom of the seventh but Zunino banged into a double play. Heredia grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Wright who tossed 7 brilliant innings of 1 run ball but the offense had nothing to show for it.
The Sox had one last hit left in them as Devers looked at strike three to begin the top of the eighth. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Nunez singled to chase LeBlanc. Alex Colome relieved LeBlanc as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Swihart....only to pop up to third to end the last remaining threat. Brandon Workman took the mound for the bottom of the eighth and Gordon whiffed to start. Segura doubled but Haniger whiffed. Cruz popped up to first to end the inning.
Edwin Diaz came in to close out the top of the ninth and he blew away everyone. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Vazquez and struck out swinging. JBJ and Mr. Mookie both whiffed in short order to end the game. The Sox had two hits and no walks the whole game, losing 1-0. Pathetic.
Jackass of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. He was 0 for 3 including banging into the double play in the first that killed any hope of ever scoring a run.
The Good:
Eduardo Nunez was 1 for 3.
One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Steven Wright was great, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball while scattering just 5 hits and 2 walks.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Blake Swihart was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Brock Holt struck out as a pinch hitter.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
If last night's loss was bad enough, this felt far worse. When you blow a lead at least you can say you had a lead but when you get absolutely dominated like the Sox did today, there's nothing positive to come out of it. Wright pitched his ass off but the offense failed him big time. All 9 guys were off stride all day and swung at garbage more often than not. The Sox needed to win today to keep pace with the New York Yankees and they couldn't get the job done. The Yankees aren't going to go away so every game is crucial. Unfortunately the less said about this game, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 48-24, percentage points behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to salvage the series when they send Eduardo Rodriguez (8-1) to the mound to take on Mariners starter Mike Leake at 4:10 PM at Safeco Field.
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