Mariners starter James Paxton looked strong in the first inning although Mr. Mookie Betts reached on an error by Jean Segura to open the game. Brock "The Hitman" Holt, JD Martinez and Mitch Moreland all whiffed in short order. "Slick" Rick Porcello matched him but allowed a mistake in the bottom of the first. Dee Gordon looked at strike three but Segura atoned for his error with a 7,000 foot bomb to give Seattle the lead. Mitch Haniger whiffed and Nelson Cruz looked at strike three to end the inning with the Mariners up 1-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to start before Rafael Devers lined out to left. Eduardo Nunez also lined out to left to end the inning. Seattle struck again in the bottom of the second as Kyle Seager doubled and took third on the Ryon Healy single. Ben Gamel beat out a double play ball and stole second on the strikeout by Guillermo Heredia. Mike Zunino singled home Gamel to increase the lead. Gordon grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 3-0 Mariners.
Suddenly the Sox exploded in the top of the third inning. Jackie Bradley Jr singled but Sandy Leon looked at strike three. Mr. Mookie lined one to Segura who threw the ball away allowing JBJ to reach third. Holt singled home JBJ to put the Sox on the board. Martinez singled to load the bases and Moreland singled home Betts and Holt to give the Sox the lead. Bogaerts then crushed a 3 run home run for some much needed insurance. Devers singled and stole second before Nunez walked to chase Paxton after 2 1/3 innings. Chasen Bradford got JBJ to line out to first and Leon to ground out to second to end the inning but it was 6-3 Sox.
Porcello did his part in the bottom of the third when Segura grounded out to third to start. Haniger popped up to second and Cruz popped up to short to end the inning.
Rob Whalen took over for the top of the fourth and Mr. Mookie lined out to second to begin. Holt grounded out to short before Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning. Porcello stayed tough in the bottom of the fourth as Seager whiffed to start. Healy flied out to center before Gamel whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Moreland grounded out to second to begin before Bogaerts flied out to center. Devers grounded out to first to end the inning. The Mariners began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth although Heredia whiffed. Zunino grounded out to third but Gordon, Segura and Haniger hit three straight singles to score a run. Cruz walked to load the bases but Seager grounded out to second to end the inning with the Mariners down 6-4.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Nunez grounded out to second, JBJ lined out to center and Leon flied out to center to end the inning. Porcello came back for one more inning in the bottom of the sixth inning. Healy whiffed, Gamel looked at strike three and Heredia lined out to second to end the inning. Porcello lasted 6 innings but allowed 4 innings, not his best work.
The Sox looked to rally in the top of the seventh inning when Mr. Mookie singled to start. Holt flied out to right but Martinez walked. Moreland lined out to right and Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning. The Mariners inched closer in the bottom of the seventh against Heath Hembree when Zunino led off with a 40,000 foot home run. Hembree recovered to get Gordon to ground out to third and Segura to line out to left. Haniger walked but Cruz popped up to second to end the inning with the Mariners down 6-5.
The Sox blew a chance for insurance against Ryan Cook in the top of the eighth when Devers singled and Nunez walked. JBJ whiffed and Andrew Benintendi pinch hit for Leon only to ground out, moving the runners over. Mr. Mookie was intentionally walked to load the bases but Holt lined out to left to end the inning. It was a huge squander as the Mariners completed the comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate with Matt Barnes on the mound and Seager whiffed to start. 5 outs from losing, the Mariners rallied as Healy walked and Andrew Romine pinch ran for hom. Hamel singled and Denard Span pinch hit for Heredia and cleared the bases with a double to give the Mariners the lead. Zunino whiffed and Gordon grounded out to second to end the inning with the Mariners up 7-6.
Edwin Diaz came in to close the game out in the top of the ninth but Martinez refused to go quietly with a single. Blake Swihart ran for Martinez but Moreland whiffed. Swihart stole second and Bogaerts walked to put the go-ahead run at first. That was it as Devers popped up to short and Nunez grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had lost 7-6 squandering so many chances.
Jackass of the Night is Matt Barnes. He was supposed to protect a one run lead and coughed it up to take the loss.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Brock Holt was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs and scored.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a walk including a 3 run homer.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 3 but walked twice.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Blake Swihart ran for Martinez in the top of the ninth.
Christian Vazquez caught the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
That was an unmitigated disaster. The Mariners just kept coming and coming while the Sox offense dissipated after the 3rd inning. The Sox really needed this win to stick it to the New York Yankees but it wasn't to be. The Sox may need a reliever at the deadline if guys like Heath Hembree and Barnes give up runs left and right. Hopefully its an aberration but for now its a tough loss to swallow. The less said of it the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 48-23, 0.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take out the Mariners with Steven Wright (2-0) on the mound opposite Wade LeBlanc. The game begins at 8:05 PM at Safeco Field.
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