Final, Red Sox 11-4: Brandon Workman’s second inning was far more impressive. The hard-throwing right-hander capped his major league debut with a 1-2-3 ninth, which put the finishing touches on an 11-4 Red Sox win.
Workman surrendered three runs in the eighth inning, but he looked very sharp in the ninth. The 24-year-old struck out Henry Blanco and Brendan Ryan, giving him four strikeouts in his first outing with the big club.
The Red Sox’ offense jumped all over the Mariners Wednesday, with Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz setting the tempo.
Ellsbury extended his hit streak to 18 games while turning in a 3-for-4 effort. Ortiz, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
It took one at-bat for Ortiz to make history. He doubled in the second inning, which moved him ahead of Harold Baines for the most hits in major league history as a designated hitter. Ortiz now has 1,690 hits as a DH — and counting.
Felix Doubront, who has been on a roll of late, was sharp once again. The left-hander was in complete control throughout, and he exited after seven excellent innings. Doubront gave up just one run on five hits while striking out six and walking two. He threw 107 pitches (66 strikes).
The Red Sox, who have taken two in a row after dropping Monday’s series opener, will go for their third straight victory Thursday. Those on the East Coast won’t even have to stay up late, as Thursday’s series finale is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET.
Good night, everyone.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 11-4: The Red Sox’ offense wasn’t ready to call it quits.
Tom Wilhelmsen took over for Seattle, and he was all over the place. Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia worked back-to-back walks to begin the ninth inning.
Jose Iglesias flied out to right field, which allowed Nava to advance to third base. Wilhelmsen then threw a wild pitch with Brock Holt batting that allowed Nava to cross the plate with Boston’s 10th run.
Holt ended up singling into right field, which set up runners at the corners with one out for Mike Carp. Carp, who struck out in his first at-bat after entering the game for Jacoby Ellsbury, blooped an RBI single into right-center.
Wilhelmsen, who definitely labored a lot more than Seattle would have liked, bounced back to strike out Jackie Bradley Jr. and Brandon Snyder. The Red Sox now have a little extra cushion to work with, though.
Brandon Workman, who threw 27 pitches in the eighth inning, will come back out for the ninth.
End 8th, Red Sox 9-4: Brandon Workman will have better days in the majors.
Workman, who was making his major league debut, surrendered three runs on four hits in the eighth inning.
Brendan Ryan welcomed Workman to The Show with a home run over the left field fence. Workman got to two strikes on Ryan, but the Seattle infielder fouled off a couple of pitches and laid off another before eventually hammering the eighth pitch of the at-bat over the wall.
Dustin Ackley and Kendrys Morales followed up with back-to-back doubles before Workman retired his first batter. Kyle Seager lined out to Jackie Bradley Jr., who took an unorthodox route to the ball.
Workman then picked up the first strikeout of his big league career. Jason Bay fouled off an 0-2 curveball, and Workman came back and blew him away with a fastball on the outside corner.
Justin Smoak sent a double into the left-center field gap to plate Seattle’s third run of the inning, but Workman made sure things didn’t get any more out of hand by striking out Michael Saunders.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 9-1: Oliver Perez came on for the eighth inning, and he sat the Red Sox down in order.
Brandon Snyder, who entered in the bottom of the seventh, hit a line drive right at left fielder Dustin Ackley for the first out.
Ryan Lavarnway pinch-hit for David Ortiz, who made history back in the second inning. Lavarnway hit a ground ball that got on second baseman Brad Miller rather quickly, but Miller made the play for out No. 2.
Mike Napoli struck out swinging to end the inning.
Brandon Workman, who was called up before Wednesday’s game, will make his major league debut for Boston in the bottom of the eighth inning.
End 7th, Red Sox 9-1: At least the Mariners won’t be shut out. Seattle got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning, which drew a mock cheer from the Safeco Field crowd.
Jason Bay led off the inning by planting a ball off the wall in left-center field. Bay was a couple of feet away from a home run, and he instead was forced to settle for a double.
The Mariners nearly spoiled the leadoff double, as Justin Smoak flied out and Michael Saunders grounded out to second base. But Henry Blanco made sure it didn’t go to waste by singling into center field.
Brad Miller ended the inning by grounding out to short. It looks like that will be the night for Felix Doubront, as he is receiving some congratulatory handshakes in the Boston dugout.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 9-0: The Red Sox loaded the bases in the seventh inning. Or more appropriately, Carter Capps loaded the bases for them.
In any event, Boston couldn’t tack on to its nine-run lead.
Daniel Nava and Brock Holt both walked in the inning, while Jose Iglesias got hit by a pitch.
Mike Carp was the first to take his cuts with the bags packed. He pinch-hit for Jacoby Ellsbury, and he struck out looking on a 95 mph fastball on the inside corner.
Jackie Bradley Jr. then stepped up for his first at-bat of the game with two outs, but he too was retired. Bradley grounded to second base.
The Red Sox will make some defensive changes before the bottom of the seventh. Carp will stay in the game as the left fielder. Daniel Nava will shift to right field and Jackie Bradley Jr. will shift to center field. Brandon Snyder will replace Dustin Pedroia and play third base, while Brock Holt will pop on over to second base.
End 6th, Red Sox 9-0: While the Red Sox’ offense keeps rolling along, so does Felix Doubront.
Doubront pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning. The Mariners have just three hits thus far.
Raul Ibanez struck out to begin the sixth. Doubront fanned the 41-year-old with an off-speed pitch off the plate outside.
Kendrys Morales grounded to third base, and Kyle Seager grounded to first base.
Jackie Bradley Jr. took over in right field for Shane Victorino before the inning began. Victorino doesn’t look like he’s playing at 100 percent healthwise, as he could be seen walking rather gingerly a few times. John Farrell will use the big lead as an opportunity to give Victorino some extra rest.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 9-0: Aaron Harang left the game in the sixth inning responsible for two baserunners. Both scored — and then some.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia started the sixth with a base hit into right field.
Jose Iglesias then hit a soft ground ball to the right side that ended up just past the mound. First baseman Justin Smoak came in to make a play, but upon fielding it, he had nowhere to go. Both Saltalamacchia and Iglesias reached their intended destinations.
Lucas Luetge took over at that point, but things hardly got any easier.
After Brock Holt hit into a forceout that left runners at the corners, Jacoby Ellsbury singled into right field to score Boston’s sixth run. Ellsbury, who extended his hit streak to 18 games with a first-inning single, is 3-for-4.
Shane Victorino followed up with an RBI single of his own. Victorino, a switch hitter, now has an RBI single from both sides of the plate.
Boston’s eighth run scored when Dustin Pedroia hit a ground ball to the left side. Shortstop Brad Miller fielded it cleanly, but his throw to second base was off the mark, and Ellsbury scored.
David Ortiz, who homered in the third inning, drove in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left-center field. That made the score 9-0, and it chased Luetge from the game.
Carter Capps was the third Mariners pitcher of the inning, and he retired the only batter he faced. Mike Napoli hit a ground ball that bounced off the mound and right to Nick Franklin at second base.
The damage was certainly done. The Red Sox pushed across four runs in the frame before all was said and done. Felix Doubront will now go back to work with a commanding nine-run lead.
End 5th, Red Sox 5-0: The Mariners put two runners on base, but Felix Doubront remained in control.
Doubront struck out Justin Smoak swinging to begin the inning. The lefty left a changeup up in the zone, but he took enough off of it that Smoak was way out in front.
Michael Saunders tried to get something going with a one-out double. Brad Miller then walked with two outs to add to the threat.
Doubront wasn’t fazed by either of the baserunners, though. Instead, he struck out Nick Franklin to end the inning with a five-run lead still firmly intact.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 5-0: Aaron Harang enjoyed his first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the fifth.
David Ortiz, who homered back in the third inning, grounded into the shift to lead things off. Second baseman Nick Franklin was perfectly positioned, but he bobbled the ball, which made the play at first closer than it should have been.
Mike Napoli grounded into the hole between third base and shortstop for the second out, and Daniel Nava flied out to end the inning.
End 4th, Red Sox 5-0: Felix Doubront issued a free pass to begin the fourth inning. It didn’t matter.
Doubront, who has been in total control, bounced back from the leadoff walk to record three straight flyouts.
Kendrys Morales and Kyle Seager each flied out to center field, and Jason Bay ended the inning by flying to left field.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 5-0: Jacoby Ellsbury almost exited the yard. Instead, the ball smacked about halfway up the wall in right-center field.
Ellsbury may have just missed his third home run of the season, but he still came around to score. Shane Victorino went the other way for a two-out, RBI single.
Raul Ibanez came up firing to home plate on Victorino’s single into left, but the veteran doesn’t have a very good throwing arm. His throw sailed up the first base line while Ellsbury easily crossed the plate.
End 3rd, Red Sox 4-0: All that the Mariners mustered up in the third inning was a broken-bat single.
Michael Saunders grounded out to short for the first out, and Henry Blanco popped out to his catching counterpart for the second out.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia made a nice play on Blanco’s popout. He jumped up, ditched his mask and raced back to make the catch right in front of the screen behind home plate.
Brad Miller shattered his lumber while dropping a two-out single into right field, but Felix Doubront got Nick Franklin to ground into a 6-4 forceout to end the inning before Miller’s single could materialize into anything further.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 4-0: David Ortiz is already adding to his new record.
Ortiz, who has the most hits all-time as a designated hitter after doubling in the second inning, doubled the Red Sox’ lead in the third inning. Ortiz got a fastball inside about thigh high, and he crushed a bomb into the seats in right-center field.
The home run, which was Ortiz’s 19th of the season, was a two-run shot, as Dustin Pedroia worked a six-pitch walk with two outs before Ortiz stepped in.
The Red Sox threatened for more against Aaron Harang, as Mike Napoli walked for the second time and Daniel Nava singled. But the inning ended when Jarrod Saltalamacchia flied out to deep left-center.
The Red Sox’ offense is picking up right where it left off. Boston scored 11 runs on 16 hits Tuesday.
End 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: Kyle Seager picked up his team-leading 101st hit of the season, but it was Seattle’s only hit of the inning.
Felix Doubront, who struck out two batters in the first inning, struck out Kendrys Morales to begin the third. The left-hander came with five straight fastballs before freezing Morales with a curveball on the inside corner.
Seager then singled into center field, and Doubront nearly benefited from an inning-ending double play. Jason Bay hit a slow bouncer to short that the Red Sox tried to turn into two, but Bay beat out Dustin Pedroia’s throw to first.
Justin Smoak ended the inning by grounding to third base. Brock Holt made the play and fired to second base to complete the forceout.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 2-0: David Ortiz made history, and the Red Sox scored two runs.
Ortiz drilled a double into the left-center field gap to lead off the second inning. It marked his 1,689th career hit as a designated hitter, making him the all-time leader in hits as a DH. Ortiz passed Harold Baines to break the record.
Ortiz’s double was just the beginning of a successful inning for the Red Sox.
Mike Napoli walked and Daniel Nava got hit on the elbow to load the bases with no outs for Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Saltalamacchia gave one a ride to the power alley in left-center field. Raul Ibanez ranged back and over to make the play, but Ortiz tagged up and scored Boston’s first run of the game. Napoli advanced to third base, and Nava moved up to second base.
Jose Iglesias, who initially fell behind in the count, 0-2, fouled off a slider before hammering the next pitch to right field. Jason Bay backtracked to make the play, but Napoli tagged up and scored Boston’s second run.
The Red Sox had a chance to do some more damage, but Brock Holt was retired on a little flair to left field. Shortstop Brad Miller ran back to make the catch in shallow left.
End 1st, 0-0: The first out required a nice defensive play. Felix Doubront took care of the rest.
Brad Miller led off with a ground ball to short. Jose Iglesias, who has the quickest release I’ve ever seen, charged in and threw to first on the run. His throw was in the dirt, but Mike Napoli scooped it out to complete the out.
Doubront finished the inning by striking out Nick Franklin and Raul Ibanez.
Franklin chased a 1-2 changeup located low and away. Ibanez tried to check his swing on an inside fastball, but home plate umpire Cory Blaser ruled that he went around.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Jacoby Ellsbury’s hit streak is up to 18 games.
Ellsbury yanked a 2-1 fastball into right field to extend his streak and get the Red Sox’ offense rolling.
Aaron Harang put a quick stop to Boston’s first-inning efforts, though.
Shane Victorino hit a perfect double play ball right at shortstop Brad Miller. Miller fielded it and flipped to Nick Franklin, who tossed to first to complete the double play. (John Farrell said before Wednesday’s game that Victorino, who has been battling hamstring tightness, will likely sit out Thursday’s day game.)
Dustin Pedroia bounced down to first base to end the inning.
10:11 p.m.: Aaron Harang’s first pitch is a strike. The baseball game has officially begun.
10:01 p.m.: Clay Buchholz threw a 25-pitch bullpen session in Seattle on Wednesday. John Farrell said the ball came out of Buchholz’s hand well.
According to Farrell, Buchholz will have a light day Thursday before throwing another bullpen Friday. The right-hander may then make a rehab start Sunday for either Portland or Pawtucket.
9:47 p.m.: The Red Sox’ roster has been somewhat in flux recently, and that trend continued Wednesday.
Allen Webster and Alfredo Aceves were optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, and Steven Wright and Pedro Beato were recalled.
It’s still unclear who will start Sunday’s game against the A’s, but Wright is certainly a candidate. The Red Sox may also consider using Brandon Workman, who was called up before Tuesday’s game.
9:22 p.m.: David Ortiz could make some history Wednesday.
Ortiz, who went 4-for-5 Tuesday, tied Harold Baines for the most hits as designated hitter in major league history with 1,688, meaning his next hit will break the record.
Ortiz is already baseball’s all-time leader in runs (1,016), doubles (431), home runs (369), extra-base hits (817) and RBIs (1,206) as a DH.
8:16 p.m.: If you’re interested in getting caught up to speed on the Red Sox’ minor league happenings, I suggest you check out the gallery at the link below. You’ll find out which players down on the farm had breakout performances this past week.
Check out the top Red Sox prospects of the week >>
7:20 p.m.: While on the topic of the All-Star Game, it’s worth mentioning that on this date in 1945, Major League Baseball canceled the All-Star Game because of wartime travel restrictions. The Midsummer Classic was scheduled to be played at none other than Fenway Park that year.
With the All-Star Game canceled, the Red Sox instead played the Braves in an exhibition game, which was part of a league-wide initiative to raise funding for the war effort.
The Red Sox, of course, lost the 1946 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. The series lasted seven games, and that 1946 Red Sox team will forever be remembered for its consistency.
7:12 p.m.: Remember, folks. Time is running out to vote Koji Uehara into the All-Star Game. You have until 4 p.m. ET Thursday to cast your vote as part of MLB.com’s Final Vote.
Click here to vote for Uehara in the Final Vote >>
7 p.m.: Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino have both been banged up, but both will be in Wednesday’s starting lineup.
Wednesday’s complete lineups are below.
Red Sox (55-37)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Jose Iglesias, SS
Brock Holt, 3B
Felix Doubront, LHP (5-3, 4.11 ERA)
Mariners (40-50)
Brad Miller, SS
Nick Franklin, 3B
Raul Ibanez, LF
Kendrys Morales, DH
Kyle Seager, 3B
Jason Bay, RF
Justin Smoak, 1B
Michael Saunders, CF
Henry Blanco, C
Aaron Harang, RHP, 4-7 (4.92 ERA)
8 a.m. ET: Safeco Field is generally a pitcher’s park, but the Red Sox and Mariners threw that notion out the window on Tuesday.
The two teams combined for 19 runs and 29 hits, with Boston ultimately prevailing, 11-8. The two teams were tied at eight apiece until Shane Victorino kicked off a three-run eighth inning with a home run. It was one of five long balls for the Red Sox, who ended a three-game skid with the victory.
Felix Doubront will get the start on Wednesday, and he’ll be looking to continue a very impressive stretch. Doubront owns a 2.87 ERA over his last 10 starts after starting the season off in shaky fashion.
Wednesday will be another late one on the East Coast. The game’s first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
