When Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello faced the Seattle Mariners in March, he was chased from the game after giving up nine runs in just 2 2/3 innings.
Saturday’s game was a marked improvement for the righty compared to his first outing of the season against the Mariners. Porcello allowed four earned runs off of five hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking one.
The Sox went on to a 9-5 victory, handing Porcello his third win of the season.
Red Sox bats were ablaze as well, helping lift Porcello out of an early hole before breaking things open in the third. Boston batters combined for 10 hits on the day, with all but two batters recording a hit.
Boston improved to 21-19 with the win, while Seattle dropped to 20-22 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
GAME IN A WORD
Unpredictable.
Few, if any, could have predicted Porcello would no-hit the Mariners after giving up four runs in the first. Nor could they have anticipated the eight-run third inning put together by Boston’s bats.
ON THE BUMP
— It was quite an interesting day for Porcello in his eighth start of the season.
Things got off to a bit of a shaky start, with the righty allowing Daniel Vogelman to drive home the first run of the game with an RBI-double that just snuck into fair territory down the first base line.
Then it was Domingo Santana’s turn to hit an RBI-double, this time to center field.
Dominigo Santana adds to his RBI today @Mariners with an early lead in Boston on @ROOTSPORTS_NW #WHEREiROOT pic.twitter.com/KeJ7O48oC6
— ROOT SPORTSâ„¢ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) May 11, 2019
Jay Bruce followed that up with a two-run homer, giving Seattle an early 4-0 lead. Bruce now has hit six dingers against the Sox in his 12-year career.
Porcello settled down a bit after that, going 1-2-3 in each of the next five innings (a fielding error he committed in the third notwithstanding). He was pulled with two out in the seventh after walking Shed Long.
— Brandon Workman took the mound in the seventh and retired the side after walking the first batter he faced.
— Ryan Braiser came out of the bullpen for a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
— Colten Brewer got the ball for the Sox in the ninth. Despite giving up a solo homer to Omar Navarez with one out, the right-hander was able to put things away.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Boston had a tall order to fill Saturday, with Porcello giving up four runs before the Sox’s first at-bat. But that didn’t stop the Sox’s bats from catching fire early on.
Mitch Moreland was the first to score for the Sox, hitting a solo homer off of the first pitch he saw in the second. He now leads the team with 12 home runs on the season.
The Sox stranded runners on the corners to end the inning. But they weren’t done there.
— Mariners starter Felix Hernandez got into some trouble in the third, and the Sox quickly capitalized on the opportunity.
A bases-loaded single hit by Xander Bogaerts cut the lead in half. Devers then tied the game at four runs apiece thanks to this RBI-single:
After Hernandez re-loaded the bases, he was yanked from the game. But the damage didn’t stop there.
The Sox got to reliever Roenis Elis early, with Jackie Bradley Jr. slapping an RBI single up the middle to drive home two more runs to make the score 6-4 in Boston’s favor.
That’s when Sandy Leon broke things open with a three-run homer, giving the Sox a 9-4 lead.
The Sox scored eight earned runs in total in the third.
— Boston had opportunities in the fifth and seventh innings to tack on some more runs, but were unable to do so. The Sox left four men on base throughout the day.
TWEET OF THE DAY
The Red Sox are back, baby.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox will wrap up their three-game series against the Mariners with a Sunday matinee at Fenway Park. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m. ET.
