If you thought last night's loss for the Boston Red Sox was tough to handle, tonight's loss to the Seattle Mariners topped it. Nick Pivetta threw 5 2/3 innings of no-hit ball and the Sox pitching held the Mariners to just 1 hit through nine innings.....problem was Sox pitchers issued SEVEN walks. The Sox led 2-0 when the only hit Pivetta allowed was a 2 run double over the head of Franchy Cordero playing so shallow he was practically standing at short. The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the seventh but two walks and an error by Adam Ottavino tied the game. In extra innings, Darwinzon Hernandez walked 3 batters, gave up a double and a backbreaking 3 run homer by Mitch Haniger to ice it. The team everyone expected the Red Sox to be is rearing its ugly head as they lost 7-3 to the Mariners in 10 innings at Fenway Park.
Pivetta got the ball in the top of the first and Mitch Haniger flied out to left to start. Ty France lined out to center and Kyle Seager lined out to second to end the inning. Former Boston College pitcher Justin Dunn made his ML debut in the bottom of the first and he struck out Kike Hernandez swinging to start. Alex Verudgo motored around for a triple into the right field corner but JD Martinez struck out swinging. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kyle Lewis flied out to center to start the top of the second and Evan White grounded out to first. Taylor Trammell flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers crushed his 6th homer of the year 427 feet to begin. Christian Vazquez grounded back to the mound, Marwin Gonzalez popped up to first and Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Luis Torres took strike three to start the top of the third and Dylan Moore grounded out to third. JP Crawford grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Franchy Cordero grounded out to second to start. Hernandez flied out to center but Verdugo singled to center. Verdugo swiped second before Martinez walked. Verdugo swiped third but Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning.
Haniger walked to start the top of the fourth but France banged into a double play. Seager flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Devers dropped a base hit to right to start. Devers swiped second and moved to third on a grounder into the shift by Vazquez. Gonzalez was plunked to put runners at the corners and Renfroe singled to right to score Devers. Devers moved to third on the hit but was stranded as Cordero whiffed and Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Lewis took strike three to start the top of the fifth and White grounded out to third. Trammell took strike three to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo lined out to left to start. Martinez got a base hit to right but Bogaerts flied out to right. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning.
The wheels fell off for Pivetta in the top of the sixth although Torres flied out to center to start. Moore took strike three but Crawford and Haniger walked. Cordero was playing so shallow he was standing behind Bogaerts and naturally France doubled over his head to tie the game...getting thrown out at third trying to stretch a triple to end the inning. Tough luck for Pivetta who held the Mariners to one hit and 2 runs in 6 innings but had nothing to show for it.
Will Vest came in for the bottom of the sixth and Vazquez walked to start. Gonzalez forced Vazquez at second, Renfroe flied out to center and Cordero took strike three to end the inning.
Matt Andriese came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Seager was plunked to start. Lewis flied out to right, White popped up to short and Trammell grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox caught a lucky break in the bottom of the seventh with Casey Sadler on the mound. Hernandez motored around for a triple to left to start but Verdugo struck out swinging. Somehow Sadler uncorked a wild pitch and Hernandez scored the go-ahead run. Martinez whiffed but Bogaerts got a base hit to left. Devers lined out to center to end the inning with Boston ahead 3-2.
The Mariners wasted no time scoring against Adam Ottavino in the top of the eighth inning as Torres walked to start. Jose Marmolejos pinch hit for Moore with Sam Haggerty pinch running for Torres. Haggerty swiped second and Marmolejos walked. Crawford dropped down a bunt and Ottavino threw it to Jupiter to tie the game. Haniger beat out a double play ball but France didn't to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Tom Murphy replaced Marmolejos behind the plate with Kendall Graveman now on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Vazquez popped up to second, Gonzalez struck out swinging and Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in for the top of the ninth and got Seager to ground out to second to start. Lewis flied out to center and White struck out swinging to end the inning. Rafael Montero cruised in the bottom of the ninth as Cordero grounded out to second to start. Hernandez struck out swinging and Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. The Mariners had taken the Sox to extra innings with just 1 hit in the game, unacceptable.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in to crap his pants in the top of the tenth inning. White started the inning at second base and Trammell sacrificed him over to third with a bunt. Once again Cordero was playing too shallow and Haggerty easily doubled over his head to score White to put the Mariners up for good. Murphy flied out to right but Crawford walked and Haniger smashed a home run all the way to China to ice the game. France walked for the SEVENTH walk of the game but Seager struck out swinging to end the game. The Mariners had just 3 hits in the game but led 7-4.
Anthony Misiewicz came in to pitch the bottom of the tenth with Verdugo starting at second base. All the Sox could do was beat the ball in the dirt as Martinez grounded out to short to start. Bogaerts grounded out to short and Devers grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Mariners had won it 7-4 in 10 innings.
Seattle wins
Darwinzon Jackass
Jackass of the night is Darwinzon Hernandez. He allowed 4 runs in the top of the tenth inning to lose the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with 2 stolen bases.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with a home run, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Nick Pivetta allowed just 1 hit and 2 runs in 6 innings.
Matt Andriese pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Matt Barnes tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and two badly misplayed fly balls.
Adam Ottavino allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Guess this is the Red Sox team everyone thought they would be. Forget the Mariners just for a second, the Sox bats just aren't good enough. Apart from Verdugo, Bogaerts, Martinez and Devers, NOBODY is hitting above .260. Christian Arroyo hits well but he doesn't play often enough. When you have 5 out of 9 guys hitting under .260, that's not a recipe for success. The Sox couldn't do a damn thing with runners on base and needed a wild pitch just to score the third run. Now for the pitching, how do you give up SEVEN walks and 4 of which to the bottom of the order? Imagine if the Mariners walked Cordero and Dalbec four times. Its a shame Pivetta's one hit allowed ended up tying the game because it was one let-down after another at that point. Hernandez velocity is down and he was supposed to be the next Alan Embree. Everything stinks right now and it doesn't look like it'll get better soon. Its only 3 weeks into the season but when 5 out of 9 guys are below average, that's bad news moving forward. The Sox look to rebound against the Mariners tomorrow night when Martin Perez (0-1, 5.93 ERA) takes on Yusei Kikuchi of the Mariners at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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