BOSTON — The Red Sox played eight solid innings Saturday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners and one very, very bad one.
Take a spin through some news and notes from the Red Sox’s 7-3 loss — their seventh in a row.
— Saying that starting pitching on both sides was subpar would be an understatement. Red Sox starter Brandon Workman needed 25 pitches to get through the first inning, allowed three hits in the second and completely fell apart in the fourth, allowing seven runs on seven hits in the frame while picking up just one out before getting the hook.
“The last time out, (Workman threw) seven very good innings for us,” manager John Farrell told reporters after the game, referencing the right-hander’s performance in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. “Even the first time through the order today, he had the ability to put some guys away with his curveball, but it caught up to him the second time through.”
Chris Young, while he didn’t have the one disastrous inning that Workman did, wasn’t much better. The Mariners starter allowed the leadoff man to reach and score in each of his three full innings of work and was yanked after loading the bases with two outs in the fourth. Reliever Tom Wilhelmsen bailed him out of that jam by striking out Mike Napoli to end the inning.
— The relievers, meanwhile, were stellar, and none more so than Red Sox right-hander Alex Wilson. Wilson, making just his seventh major league appearance of the season, relieved Workman with one out in the fourth and proceeded to toss 3 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. He allowed just one Mariners batter to reach, hitting Robinson Cano in the backside with a pitch in the seventh.
“Alex Wilson went above and beyond what we expect (Saturday) and was outstanding,” Farrell said.
— Wilson’s beaning of Cano likely was retribution for a number of high-and-tight pitches thrown by Mariners pitchers during this series. One from Felix Hernandez hit Xander Bogaerts in the head Friday night, forcing the shortstop to miss Saturday’s game as he underwent concussion tests. Another from reliever Charlie Furbush on Saturday nailed David Ortiz in the elbow, and a third from Danny Farquhar one batter later nearly made contact with Yoenis Cespedes.
Cano’s hit-by-pitch prompted home plate umpire Angel Hernandez to warn both benches.
— Ortiz left the game with a left elbow contusion after being hit by Furbush’s pitch. Kelly Johnson replaced him in the designated hitter spot and struck out in his only at-bat.
Farrell said he expects Ortiz to be back in the lineup Sunday.
— No player had a better all-around performance than Cespedes, who excelled in all facets of the game. The left fielder finished with an RBI (via sacrifice fly), a double, a walk, a run scored, a nice, running catch on a Dustin Ackley line drive and this perfect throw, which Cespedes used to throw out Kyle Seager at home plate by a mile. The outfield assist was Cespedes’ major league-leading 14th of the season.
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— David Ross was ejected in the eighth inning by first base umpire Vic Carapazza. It was the first time the veteran catcher had been tossed in his 13-year major league career.
Photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
