BOSTON — That certainly wasn’t what the Red Sox or Roenis Elias were hoping for in the left-hander’s first start in a Boston uniform.
Elias was tagged for seven runs over four innings in the Red Sox’s matchup against the Seattle Mariners, his former team, at Fenway Park on Friday. And to make matters worse, Boston had trouble bringing runners to the plate in the 8-4 loss.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Bad.
It’s not the most creative word we could’ve come up with, but it’s the most accurate. Elias got knocked around by a potent Mariners lineup, while Boston’s offense wasn’t doing anything with its baserunners in the early innings. All of it was a recipe for disaster.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
The Red Sox went down in order in the eighth inning.
Boston scored two runs in the seventh to make it 8-4, but it couldn’t carry that momentum over to the next frame. Instead, the Red Sox had the tall task of scoring four runs in the ninth, which they couldn’t make happen.
ON THE BUMP
— Yeah, so, Elias didn’t have a very good night. The left-hander stumbled out of the gate, allowing a hard wall-ball single to M’s shortstop Ketel Marte — which would have been a double had Chris Young not played it so well — and a two run-home run to right fielder Franklin Gutierrez in the first inning. And Gutierrez continued to beat up Elias, hitting another homer — a solo shot — in the third and a bases-clearing three-run double in the fourth.
Elias finished his short night with seven runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts over four innings.
— Heath Hembree held things down in relief, save for a solo home run to Robinson Cano. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts over three innings of work.
— Tommy Layne retired all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings with no hits, no walks and no strikeouts.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— David Ortiz put the Red Sox on the board with a two-run shot in the fourth inning. It was the slugger’s only hit, however, as Ortiz went 1-for-3 with a walk.
— Mookie Betts (1-for-4) and Dustin Pedroia (0-for-4) had the other two RBIs, both on sacrifice flies.
— Travis Shaw and Sandy Leon both enjoyed good nights at the plate, going 2-for-4 and 3-for-4, respectively. They each scored a run, too.
— Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez both went 1-for-4, and Bogaerts scored a run.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. went 1-for-3, and Chris Young (1-for-4) got his first hit of the game in the ninth inning.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Here’s a tweet for in case you need a good laugh after that game.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox move on to Game 2 of their series with Seattle on Saturday in a 4:05 p.m. ET matchup. Rick Porcello will get the ball for Boston, while the Mariners’ starter has yet to be determined.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
