The bad news was the Boston Celtics lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors but the good news was the Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners. Rich Hill held the Mariners to just two runs before being lifted in the fifth inning. Meanwhile Xander Bogaerts got the Sox on the board in the top of the first with an rbi double in the first inning against Seattle starter Marco Gonzales. JD Martinez hit his first home run in over a month and Bobby Dalbec hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning. After Hill left the game, 5 relief pitchers held Seattle to just one run the rest of the way. Tanner Houck earned his first save as the closer and the Sox had won it 4-3 at T-Mobile Park.
Gonzales got the ball in the top of the first inning and Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers walked but JD Martinez flied out to right. Xander Bogaerts doubled to right to score Devers to put Boston on top. Trevor Story and Franchy Cordero drew back to back walks to load the bases but Christian Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Hill got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jesse Winker flied out to center to start. Ty France struck out swinging and Julio Rodriguez popped up to second to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left to start the top of the second but Bobby Dalbec flied out to right. Refsnyder walked but Devers lined out to left to end the inning. JP Crawford walked to start the bottom of the second but Eugenio Suarez took strike three. Crawford swiped second and Dulan Moore singled to left to put runners at the corners. Moore was thrown out at second trying to steal and Abraham Toro took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the third as Martinez blasted his sixth home run of the season to increase the lead. Bogaerts grounded out to short and Story popped up to first, but Cordero walked. Cordero swiped second but Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Luis Torrens took strike three to start the bottom of the third before Cal Raleigh walked. Winker took strike three but France singled to center to move Raleigh to third. Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the inning.
JBJ grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth before Dalbec struck out swinging. Refsnyder grounded out to second to end the inning. Crawford grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Suarez doubled to left. Moore grounded out to short and Toro grounded out to third to end the inning.
Devers struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Martinez walked. Penn Murfee came in to pitch and Bogaerts flied out to center. Story struck out swinging to end the inning. The Mariners struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Torrens doubled to center to begin. Raleigh popped up to second but Winker hit a home run all the way to Venezuela to tie the game and chase Hill. Despite throwing 89 pitches Hill was out after tossing 4 2/3 innings and allowing 2 runs. John Schreiber came in and France doubled to right before Devers booted a grounder by Rodriguez. Crawford walked to load the bases but Suarez struck out swinging. Adam Frazier pinch hit for Moore and popped up to third to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Erik Swanson came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Cordero struck out swinging to open. Vazquez flied out to left and JBJ grounded out to second to end the inning. Jake Diekman came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Toro grounded out to third to start. Torrens flied out to center but Raleigh walked. Winker struck out swinging to end the inning.
Andres Munoz came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Dalbec stepped up with his fourth home run of the year to put the Sox on top. Refsnyder was plunked and Devers got a base hit to center to move Rob to third. Martinez banged into a double play but Refsnyder scored the insurance run. Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and France grounded out to third to start. Rodriguez popped up to first and Crawford struck out swinging to end the inning.
Matthew Festa came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Story struck out swinging to start. Cordero took strike three and Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Mariners rallied in the bottom of the eighth although Suarez took strike three to start. Frazier popped up to second but Toro singled to center with two strikes. Torrens singled to center with two strikes and Sam Haggerty pinch ran for him. Raleigh singled off the glove of Story to score Torrens to cut the lead. Winker flied out to left to end the inning with the Mariners down 4-3.
Old pal Roenis Elias came in to pitch the top of the ninth and JBJ popped up to first to start. Dalbec got a base hit inside the first base bag and Refsnyder got a base hit to right, but Devers struck out swinging. Sergio Romo came in to face Martinez and JD grounded out to short to end the inning. Tanner Houck came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and France was plunked to start. Rodriguez went down hacking but Crawford singled to left. Both runners moved over on the swinging strikeout by Suarez but Frazier hit a bullet right to Story to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.
Hero of the Night is Bobby Dalbec. His solo home run in the seventh but the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch, a walk and a run scored.
Franchy Cordero walked twice in four plate appearances with a stolen base.
John Schreiber got the final out of the fifth inning.
Jake Diekman pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Tanner Houck earned his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4.
Matt Strahm allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but walked and hit a home run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Rich Hill lasted just 4 1/3 innings but allowed just 2 runs while striking out 6.
Final Thoughts:
The offense is once again starting to struggle but the pitching held up in this one. Hill was pulled early but the bullpen only allowed one run the rest of the way. Dalbec is starting to pick it up in clutch moments and the Sox need it the way they've been struggling to score runs. Scoring just four runs in three games (not counting the fourth) against the Angels isn't going to cut it and they only scored 4 in tonight's game. Still, home runs by Devers and Dalbec provided the cushion and maybe the Sox need to keep Houck as the closer. It would make more sense to put him in the rotation with Garrett Whitlock out but compared to all the blown saves Boston's had this year, maybe Houck really will be the closer down the road. All in all a win is better than a loss and that makes it 7 out 8 on this west coast trip. The win improved the Sox to 31-28, good for fourth place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Mariners when Michael Wacha (4-1) takes on George Kirby of the Mariners tomorrow night. The game begins at 10:10 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.
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