Final, Red Sox 8-7: Wow.
The Red Sox rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Boston walked off with an 8-7 win.
Daniel Nava capped the rally by driving a ball over the head of center fielder Michael Saunders with the bases loaded. He started the rally by working a leadoff walk.
The Red Sox entered the ninth inning trailing 7-2, and they started to chip away when Brock Holt smacked an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury followed Holt’s double with a walk to load the bases, at which point the Mariners took out closer Tom Wilhelmsen.
It was clear by that point that the Red Sox had a chance, but things really picked up when Shane Victorino greeted Oliver Perez with a two-run single into right field. Dustin Pedroia made it 7-6 with a single into left field that scored Ellsbury from second base.
David Ortiz struck out swinging for the first out, and the Mariners then called upon right-hander Yoervis Medina, whose first opponent was Jonny Gomes.
Gomes, who pinch hit for Mike Carp in the eighth inning and made two great defensive plays in the ninth inning, singled into center field to tie the game at seven apiece. Stephen Drew, batting with runners at first and second with one out, then drew a walk to load the bases for Nava, who came through with the game-winning hit.
It was a wild night at Fenway, and it actually means the Red Sox had two walk-off wins in one day, as Boston’s 15-inning victory over the Mariners in the second game of the series didn’t end until after midnight.
See Nava’s walk-off hit here, as well as what he had to say after the game. Click here for Jonny Gomes’ postgame dousing and interview.
10:28 p.m., 7-7:Â We’re all tied up in Boston!
Jonny Gomes singled back up the middle to tie the game at seven apiece.
Stephen Drew just worked a walk, and the bases are loaded for Daniel Nava.
10:18 p.m., Mariners 7-6: Oh boy.
Fenway Park has come alive in the ninth inning, as the Red Sox have posted four runs and are threatening for more.
Shane Victorino greeted Oliver Perez with a two-run single into right field, and Dustin Pedroia made it 7-6 with a base hit into left.
Jonny Gomes is coming up with runners at first and second and one out. Yoervis Medina is the new Seattle pitcher.
10:12 p.m., Mariners 7-3: This game has suddenly gotten much more interesting.
Tom Wilhelmsen couldn’t record an out in the ninth inning, and Shane Victorino will come to the plate representing the tying run.
Daniel Nava walked to lead off the ninth, and Stephen Drew followed with a single into center field.
Brock Holt then doubled to score Nava and set up runners at second and third for Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury walked to load the bases.
The Mariners are now turning to Oliver Perez with the bases loaded and still no outs.
Mid 9th, Mariners 7-2: The Red Sox trail by five runs in the ninth inning. That isn’t going to stop Jonny Gomes from putting it all on the line.
Gomes made a couple of nice plays in the ninth, one of which involved him throwing his body into a big green wall.
Kendrys Morales led off the ninth inning with his fourth hit of the ballgame, and Michael Saunders followed with a line drive up over Gomes’ head in left field. Gomes, who remained in left after pinch-hitting for Mike Carp in the eighth inning, played the ball extremely well off the wall, and he threw out Morales at third base.
Steven Wright then struck out Justin Smoak for the second out, although Smoak didn’t agree with the call. Wright dropped a knuckleball on the top of the strike zone, but Smoak thought it was located high.
The inning ended with Gomes retreating to make a great grab. Endy Chavez sent one back toward the warning track, and Gomes made the catch before banging into the standings portion of the Green Monster.
Gomes received a nice hand from the Fenway Faithful. The Red Sox’ offense still has its work cut out for it, though. Closer Tom Wilhelmsen will be the new Seattle pitcher in the ninth inning, even though it’s not a save situation.
End 8th, Mariners 7-2: One down. Five to go.
The Red Sox took the first step — albeit a tiny one — toward erasing a six-run deficit in the eighth inning. Shane Victorino drilled a home run off the Sports Authority sign atop the Green Monster, and we’re looking at a 7-2 ballgame.
Jonny Gomes, who pinch hit for Mike Carp with two outs in the eighth, also reached base via a walk, but Victorino’s home run was the only change to the scoreboard.
Steven Wright, who was recalled Thursday, will come back out for his third inning of work in the ninth.
Mid 8th, Mariners 7-1: Steven Wright has done a nice job in his two innings of work.
Wright, who enjoyed a 1-2-3 seventh inning, issued a one-out walk to Brad Miller in the eighth, but the knuckleballer was otherwise sharp.
He struck out Henry Blanco for the first out prior to walking Miller, which is a win for the Red Sox considering Blanco drilled a grand slam in the fifth inning.
Wright nearly got a double play with Nick Franklin up, as the Mariners second baseman hit a ground ball down to first base. Mike Carp turned and fired to second to retire the lead runner, but Stephen Drew’s throw back to first wasn’t in time to retire Franklin.
The inning ended with Kyle Seager flying out to left field.
The Red Sox’ offense has six outs to mount a major comeback. If there’s one thing working in their favor, it’s that Felix Hernandez is out of the game. Charlie Furbush will be the new Seattle pitcher.
End 7th, Mariners 7-1: Felix Hernandez just slapped a bow on seven impressive frames.
The Red Sox made a little bit of noise in the seventh, perhaps as a parting gift, but Hernandez responded the same way he has all night. The Mariners ace kept his composure and battled through the minor hiccups he suffered.
Stephen Drew walked to begin the seventh, and Ryan Lavarnway hit a hard line drive that ricocheted off third baseman Kyle Seager and ended up in left field for a one-out single.
After that, Hernandez closed out the inning by retiring Brock Holt and Jacoby Ellsbury. Holt lined out to shorstop Brad Miller, and Ellsbury struck out swinging.
Hernandez has thrown 107 pitches thus far, and there’s action in the Seattle bullpen. His night is surely over, but it was a solid effort.
Mid 7th, Mariners 7-1: It didn’t take long for Steven Wright to pitch a scoreless seventh inning.
Wright needed just 10 pitches to retire Justin Smoak, Endy Chavez and Dustin Ackley in order.
Smoak lined out to first base, Chavez flied out to center field and Ackley grounded out to short.
End 6th, Mariners 7-1: Felix Hernandez is cruising right along.
Hernandez tossed a perfect sixth inning, striking out two hitters in the process.
Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second base to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and David Ortiz and Mike Carp then struck out swinging.
Steven Wright will be the new Boston pitcher in the seventh inning after six shaky frames from Ryan Dempster.
Dempster allowed seven earned runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking five.
Mid 6th, Mariners 7-1: Kendrys Morales is swinging the bat well.
Morales is now 3-for-4 after singling in the sixth inning. Morales thought about extra bases, but he wisely put on the brakes.
Ryan Dempster, who came back out despite Seattle’s five-run fifth inning, actually pitched well in the sixth despite Morales’ hit. He retired the other three hitters he faced.
Dempster is up to 110 pitches, so his night is definitely over. It was a shaky outing.
End 5th, Mariners 7-1: It’s safe to say that the Mariners are in control.
Not only do they have a six-run lead, but they also have one of the best pitchers in baseball toeing the rubber.
Felix Hernandez enjoyed a quick and painless fifth inning, retiring the side in order.
Brock Holt and Shane Victorino grounded out in the inning, while Jacoby Ellsbury became Hernandez’s fifth strikeout victim.
Mid 5th, Mariners 7-1: King Felix has quite the cushion to work with now. Henry Blanco hit his third career grand slam, and the Mariners posted five runs in the fifth inning to build a 7-1 lead.
Kyle Seager, who just keeps producing, tripled down into the right field corner to lead off the fifth. He scored on the very next pitch, as Kendrys Morales singled into right field.
Seattle’s threat was far from over, though.
Justin Smoak nearly put two runs on the scoreboard when he hit a fly ball to deep left field. The ball plunked off the Green Monster just inches shy of a home run.
Smoak’s double put runners at second and third, and Dustin Ackley loaded the bases with a two-out walk. Ryan Dempster couldn’t escape the inning, as Blanco ripped a fastball down the left field line for a grand salami.
End 4th, Mariners 2-1: Felix Hernandez has done a good job of buckling down when he needs to.
Daniel Nava delivered a two-out double down the left field line, but Hernandez kept Seattle’s one-run lead intact by striking out Ryan Lavarnway.
Mike Carp grounded down to first base for the first out of the fourth inning, and Stephen Drew grounded back up the middle to his shortstop counterpart for the second out.
Mid 4th, Mariners 2-1: Ryan Dempster enjoyed his best inning yet in the fourth inning.
Dempster needed just nine pitches — five came in the first at-bat — to retire the side in order.
Henry Blanco and Brad Miller both flied out to Shane Victorino in right field, and Nick Franklin grounded out to Dustin Pedroia at second base to end the inning.
Pedroia got dirty while fielding Franklin’s grounder. It was a nice play by the All-Star.
End 3rd, Mariners 2-1: The Red Sox ran into an out on the bases to end the inning, although it wasn’t the worst thing imaginable.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the third with a double into the left-center field gap. He tagged up and moved to third base when Shane Victorino flied out to center.
Dustin Pedroia then worked a one-out walk before David Ortiz lifted a fly ball to about medium depth in left field. Ellsbury tagged up and darted toward home after Dustin Ackley made the catch, and he scored easily as third baseman Kyle Seager cut off Ackley’s throw. Ackley fired down to second base to throw out Pedroia, who attempted to tag up from first base.
Ryan Dempster will now head back to the mound looking to settle down control-wise.
Mid 3rd, Mariners 2-0: All things considered, the third inning could have been much worse. Still, the Mariners posted their second run.
Ryan Dempster has had some control issues, and he walked Kyle Seager — whose bunt single knocked in Seattle’s first run — to lead off the third inning. Kendrys Morales added to the threat with a single into left field.
Dempster settled things down somewhat when he struck out Michael Saunders, but Justin Smoak ripped a line drive into right field that plated Seager with Seattle’s second run.
Dempster, to his credit, minimized the damage, but he hasn’t had his best stuff thus far.
End 2nd, Mariners 1-0: The Red Sox put another runner into scoring position in the second inning. It yielded a similar result: nothing.
Stephen Drew, who had the game-winning hit Wednesday, kicked off the second with a single into right field. He moved up to second base when Daniel Nava grounded out, but he wouldn’t go beyond there.
Ryan Lavarnway struck out swinging for the second out, and Brock Holt hit a comebacker that Felix Hernandez snagged.
Mid 2nd, Mariners 1-0: Ryan Dempster issued another walk in the second inning, but it didn’t lead to any further damage on the scoreboard.
The Mariners came close to adding two runs, though. Nick Franklin put a charge into one with two outs in the second inning, and Jacoby Ellsbury needed to retreat to the warning track to make the catch.
End 1st, Mariners 1-0: A couple of hits, but no runs. That sums up the Red Sox’ first set of at-bats.
Jacoby Ellsbury led off with an infield single. He hit a chopper over the mound, and shortstop Brad Miller couldn’t handle it. But even if he did handle it, there’s a chance Ellsbury would have beat his throw.
Shane Victorino made the first out by grounding down to first base. Justin Smoak fired to second to nail the lead runner, but there wasn’t enough time for Seattle to execute a double play.
David Ortiz added a single in the inning, during which Victorino went from first to third, but it didn’t matter. Felix Hernandez struck out Dustin Pedroia before Ortiz’s single, and he struck out Mike Carp after it to end the threat.
Mid 1st, Mariners 1-0: Ryan Dempster’s first pitch of the game was a strike. His second pitch was yanked down into the right field corner.
Brad Miller hit a leadoff triple to get things going for the Mariners’ offense. Shane Victorino had some trouble corralling the ball down in the corner, but Miller likely would have had a triple regardless.
Dempster struck out Nick Franklin swinging for the first out, but Kyle Seager, who has become a thorn in Boston’s side, plated Miller by dropping a bunt down the third base line. It was a safety squeeze, but Seager reached at first base as well.
Dempster then struggled with his control after striking out Kendrys Morales for the second out. He walked Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak before Eric Chavez grounded down to first base for the inning’s final out.
7:11 p.m.: Ryan Dempster throws a first-pitch strike, and we’re underway.
6:41 p.m.: One thing that Jake Peavy noted a few times during his press conference Thursday was the working relationship he expects to have with both John Lackey and Ryan Dempster.
It seems like a small detail, but Peavy’s acquisition was viewed by some as redundant with guys like Lackey and Dempster already in the rotation. Perhaps the trio of veterans will push each other to reach their maximum potential.
6:15 p.m.: Jake Peavy on Thursday spoke with the Boston media for the first time since joining the Red Sox. He conducted himself extremely well.
Peavy pushed all of the right buttons and showed plenty of personality. Those things, obviously, have no bearing on his on-field performance, but they show that he’s not overwhelmed by his new situation.
Peavy said that he couldn’t be happier about joining the Red Sox — an organization deep-rooted in tradition — and he expects to give Boston a chance to win every fifth day.
Click here to read more from Peavy >>
4:54 p.m.: The Jake Peavy era will officially begin Saturday.
Peavy will start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks, according to manager John Farrell. That allows the Red Sox to split up their two left-handed starters, Jon Lester and Felix Doubront.
Farrell also announced a roster move involving two pitchers prior to Thursday’s game. Steven Wright has been called up while Jose De La Torre has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Brandon Workman, who started Tuesday’s game, was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Peavy. He’ll likely be available to pitch for Pawtucket on Sunday, and he’ll eventually return to the major league club as a reliever.
4:33 p.m.: Let’s take a look at the lineups, shall we?
Red Sox (65-44)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Carp, 1B
Stephen Drew, SS
Daniel Nava, LF
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Brock Holt, 3B
Ryan Dempster, RHP
Mariners (50-57)
Brad Miller, SS
Nick Franklin, 2B
Kyle Seager, 3B
Kendrys Morales, DH
Michael Saunders, CF
Justin Smoak, 1B
Endy Chavez, RF
Dustin Ackley, LF
Henry Blanco, C
Felix Hernandez, RHP
8 a.m. ET: It took five hours and three minutes, but the Red Sox got the job done Wednesday. They’ll now look for a series sweep Thursday.
The Red Sox have taken the first two games of their series against the Mariners. Brandon Workman was excellent on the mound Tuesday as the Red Sox’ offense smacked three homers en route to an 8-2 win. Then, a Jake Peavy trade later, the Sox won a 15-inning marathon Wednesday that ended when Stephen Drew ripped a game-winning hit down the right field line.
Boston will have its work cut out for it Thursday, though, as Seattle will be rolling out one of baseball’s elite pitchers in Felix Hernandez. The Red Sox will counter with Ryan Dempster, who picked up a win in Baltimore his last time out.
Thursday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
