End of Game, 3-2 Mariners Win: For the second time in this series, the Mariners walk off to win the game. Great baserunning by Dustin Ackley to get to third on Olivo’s single to right, and then to score on the shallow liner to Ross.
And, fittingly, it’s Chone Figgins who drives in the winning run after this blog used a post to essentially discuss how bad a player he’s become. Well, for one night anyway, Figgins is the hero.
With the win the Mariners move to 34-46, while the Red Sox fall to 41-37.
Mid 11th, 2-2: Shawn Kelley came on for Seattle and, like every other pitcher to come in to the game, looked pretty brilliant, setting down the Red Sox in order.
What’s there to say? Both offenses have been relatively quiet since the seventh, with the Red Sox wasting a couple chances with two men on.
Aceves, the former starter turned closer, is showing his ability to stretch out his arm and will come out for the bottom of the 11th, it appears.
End 10th, 2-2: Well, the pace of the game has certainly picked up. The problem is, we’re in extra innings.
The Mariners went down quietly to Aceves in the 10th, and both offenses look pretty anemic tonight. Who’s going to get the big hit?
Mid 10th, 2-2: After having Pedroia and Ortiz reach with Saltalamacchia, Gonzalez and Middlebrooks coming up, not being able to get a run home is pretty disappointing for the Red Sox.
Mariners closer Tom Wilhelmsen (idea for a nickname: Wilhelmsen Scream?) made the Sox — Saltalamacchia in particula — look a little like Pedro Cerrano from the Major League films, waving at curveballs like their bats were afraid. Is it time for a live chicken sacrifice to wake up the bats in Seattle?
End 9th, 2-2: If you’re still with us, you are clearly a true fan. We’re nearly at 1:30 a.m. locally and headed to extra innings, so it may be time to get comfortable.
The bullpen continues to excel and Valentine has mixed and matched his troops with deftness. Granted, it probably didn’t take a genius to realize that Padilla (who had yielded an average of .512 to the Japanese sensation) probably shouldn’t face Ichiro.
That being said, Aceves came in and did exactly what was asked of him. On to the 10th!
Mid 9th, 2-2: As the broadcast went to commercial, The Doors’ “Light My Fire” played over the outro. It seems like an appropriate song for the moment.
The Red Sox offense — either team, really — could really use a metaphorical fire lit beneath them, as no one’s really been able to come up with the big hit, or get much of anything going.
With pitching dominating, you’d think the game would be going faster. But alas, it’s still the ninth and we’re over the three-hour mark — and potentially staring down extra innings. Hope you drank some coffee.
End 8th, 2-2: As we here at NESN recently wrote, the Red Sox bullpen has been pretty much immaculate lately, and it’s turning in another great effort in support of Josh Beckett.
Melancon, Miller and now Padilla have done their job admirably (Miller certainly got some help from Aviles), and now it’s up to the offense to string together some hits.
Mid 8th, 2-2: One of the things people don’t realize about Figgins is that, despite his stature, he has an enormous arm. That’s something Adrian Gonzalez won’t soon forget after being thrown out at second trying to stretch a single in to a double.
It was a marginal call by Gonzalez to go for two. On the one hand, with two outs it could have paid to put a runner in scoring position. On the other, baserunners are clearly at a premium, and with Safeco’s large outfield a double likely scores even the lead-footed Gonzalez.
End 7th, 2-2: It’s nice to see Andrew Miller settling in to the spot lefty role in Bobby Valentine’s bullpen.
After home plate umpire Lance Barksdale clearly missed the call on the previous curveball, it was an absolutely gutsy call by Miller and Saltalamacchia to come back with the same pitch again. It was one more than Miller should have had to make, but that’s all moot at this point.
Mid 7th, 2-2: The Red Sox sure don’t care how they score, but, for the record, that was an absolutely ridiculous call on Miguel Olivo’s “passed ball” with Aviles at the plate. The Safeco official scorekeeper might want to take another look at that one — and decide that it was, in fact, a wild pitch that should be charged to Brandon League
Nonetheless, the Sox get Josh Beckett off the hook for the loss, as he exits after 85 pitches. Under normal circumstances Beckett would still be in there, but the team is being reasonably cautious after Beckett missed time with shoulder inflammation.
End 6th, 2-0 Mariners: Several ugly plays on the part of the Red Sox that last half inning.
First and foremost, Josh Beckett clearly did not know the situation when he looked to flip the ball back to Saltalamacchia for a nonexistent force out after a comebacker. He didn’t know how many were on base or have a premeditated plan on what to do if the ball was hit back to him, and that is borderline inexcusable. Beckett was lucky to get Smoak at first.
Secondly, Ross clearly overplayed John Jaso’s double off the right field wall. That was a ball he likely wasn’t going to get to, and — despite his brilliant play back in the bottom of the third — needed to be less aggressive on.
And, finally, the popup that landed in short left field. Between Nava, Aviles and Middlebrooks, someone probably should have gotten to that ball off the bat of Seager. Then again, it might have been ironic karma after Seager hit a hard liner right at Gonzalez earlier. We’ll just say he was owed a hit.
Mid 6th, 0-0: It doesn’t seem to matter who the Mariners throw out there on the mound, they all seem to have the best of the Red Sox hitters.
Lucas Luetge is the newest Mariners offering, and, like Furbush, he’s been pretty effective this year, posting a 1.33 ERA in a short relief role.
End 5th, 0-0: This question has been posed many a time, but whatever happened to Chone Figgins?
When he was with Los Angeles (of Anaheim), Figgins was one of the game’s best leadoff catalysts, able to affect the game with his defense, hitting, ability to get on base and, of course, speed.
Since coming over to Seattle, however, Figgins has been a shell of his former self, essentially seeing his offensive game regress to the point where he probably shouldn’t be on a major league roster. Yet, because the Mariners owe him so much money, he continues to get playing time.
Either way, it’s an odd case, as Figgins’ game doesn’t seem like the type that would be affected by Safeco’s offensive oppression. It’s a stunning drop-off, as in 2009 Figgins hit .298. Two seasons later he was down to .188, and this year sees his batting average sit at a virtually identical number.
Mid 5th, 0-0: If you’re ever looking for a great example of baseball instincts, look no further than Cody Ross taking second on Furbush’s ball in the dirt facing Kalish.
That’s the kind of play most players won’t be able to advance to second on, but Ross did an incredible job to read the play and take second. It’s difficult to add “analysis” to such a play, because its execution relies entirely on Ross’ reactions and ability to judge what the ball was going to do off the dirt and Miguel Olivo’s body.
It’s a shame for the Red Sox that Nava couldn’t get him home, but again, credit Ross for getting into scoring position on a night when runs will clearly be at a premium.
End 4th, 0-0: Kyle Seager’s line drive was likely the hardest-hit ball off of Beckett so far Saturday, as the right-hander looks to be settling in nicely. He’ll be hoping the Sox offense can give him a little support.
So, as of right now, we’re still “Scoreless in Seattle.” That sounds kind of familiar, in more ways than one.
Mid 4th, 0-0: That’s certainly the kind of situation where you’d like to see Will Middlebrooks come through, given the lack of offensive opportunities that Safeco tends to present. Still, credit Furbush and his big curveball for getting him in a key situation.
Perhaps more importantly in the long-term, however, is the resurgence of Adrian Gonzalez, who moved his hitting streak to 11 games with that single. If Gonzalez can come all the way back and start adding some power to his game (he has two doubles and a home run during the streak) the Red Sox lineup starts to look scary deep.
Hopefully for the Sox, the line drives are an indication of more production to come.
End 3rd, 0-0: It’s been said before, but if that ball is hit in nearly any other stadium in Major League Baseball, it’s 1-0 Mariners right now.
That being said, exceptional grab by Cody Ross in right to take extra bases away from Ichiro. You’ll likely see that one on SportsCenter’s top plays tonight — if you’re still up that late.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: Charlie Furbush is the one tabbed to replace Ramirez, and the lefty has been outstanding this year coming out of the Seattle bullpen. Furbush has posted 0.64 WHIP and struck out 43 batters in 32 2/3 innings. That is nothing short of dominant.
And for those wondering, the longest outing of the year for Furbush was 2 2/3 innings.
Top 3rd, 0-0: After retiring the first eight batters he faced, Ramirez is done for the night for an apparent injury suffered on Ryan Kalish’s back-to-the-box 1-3 groundout.
This might be a break for the Red Sox, as Ramirez looked to be on his game, and now they get to face a cold pitcher who’s probably going to be asked to extend himself a bit.
It does, however, drastically slow down the pace of the game. So those hoping to get to bed before 1 a.m. might be a little disappointed.
End 2nd, 0-0: Let’s talk Justin Smoak. The 25-year-old first baseman is largely emblematic of the offensive issues plauging the Mariners.
Though he has 11 home runs this year, the once-highly touted Smoak also owns an ugly .605 OPS. Once part of the Cliff Lee trade, Smoak was supposed to be the kind of piece the Mariners could put in the middle of their lineup for years. But it hasn’t quite worked out that way.
Adrian Gonzalez’ time with San Diego proved that good hitters can thrive in a pitcher’s park, but Smoak’s struggles undoubtedly beg the question as to whether or not the Safeco effect has had a negative influence on his career.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Already we’ve seen a couple fly balls that would have been much more worrisome at any other park (Citi Field and Petco Park excluded).
However, the game continues to roll along, and the rookie Ramirez looks to be settling in.
End 1st, 0-0: Well, that was certainly a quick first inning. Not to jinx it, but those watching the Sox from the East Coast (us here at NESN included) likely welcome a fast-paced game.
Aaron Cook certainly did the job last night with his 81-pitch effort, leading to a game time of 2:17. Here’s hoping that the trend continues tonight.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The 22-year-old Ramirez looks to have pretty good stuff. If he can keep his pitches low in the zone it could be a long night for the Red Sox, as Felix Hernandez held the team quiet Thursday night with his offering of groundball-inducing pitches.
Not that elevating the ball helps much in Seattle, where a combination of the large Safeco outfield and the colder Pacific Northwest weather tends to keep offense down.
10:10 p.m.: We have first pitch! For those wondering, the temperature in Seattle is 67 degrees.
9:25 p.m.: Josh Beckett has been a bizarrely mixed bag this season.
On the one hand, the mercurial right-hander has given up more than four earned runs just twice in 12 trips to the mound, and has also posted a very good WHIP of 1.15. On the other hand, Beckett’s win-loss record stands at 4-7, and his strikeout rate is way down compared to years past.
It also has to trouble the Red Sox that it was Beckett’s shoulder that forced him onto the disabled list earlier this month. As the old baseball adage goes, elbow injuries can be dealt with, but shoulder issues scare scouts. That being said, the inflammation that Beckett was suffering appears to be minor, and with at least two fill-in starters previously occupying the Red Sox rotation, he’s a welcome presence back on the hill.
Aside from Beckett, the Red Sox will actually put the same lineup on the field for the third game in a row Saturday, featuring Daniel Nava leading off and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the cleanup role. They’ll take on Seattle Mariners rookie Erasmo Ramirez, while Beckett has to deal with a relatively anemic Mariners lineup.
Check out the full lineups for both teams below:
Boston Red Sox
Daniel Nava, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Cody Ross, RF
Ryan Kalish, CF
Mike Aviles, SS
Josh Beckett, RHP
Seattle Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Casper Wells, CF
Kyle Seager, 3B
John Jaso, DH
Justin Smoak, 1B
Dustin Ackley, 2B
Miguel Olivo, C
Chone Figgins, LF
Munenori Kawasaki, SS
Erasmo Ramirez, RHP
