Another night, another dramatic, come-from-behind win for the Boston Red Sox.
Monday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners was all about pitching through the first six innings, but both offenses picked up the slack from there. Aaron Hill tied the game with a solo home run in the eighth, and Mookie Betts lifted Boston to a 2-1 win with a solo shot of his own in the top of the ninth.
Here’s how it all went down at Safeco Field.
GAME IN A WORD
Efficient.
There wasn’t a lot of offense in this one, but that’s OK. The pitching on both sides was superb, and the game ended in under three hours.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Mookie Betts did Mookie Betts things.
Betts put the Red Sox ahead for good and earned them their second straight comeback win with his solo home run in the ninth.
ON THE BUMP
— Rodriguez faced the minimum amount of batters until he allowed his first hit of the game on a single by Robinson Cano with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. He did allow his first baserunner on a walk to Franklin Gutierrez in the third, but he struck out Chris Iannetta and turned an impressive double play when he caught a Shawn O’Malley liner that almost hit him on the mound.
Rodriguez ran into trouble in the seventh inning, which resulted in the end of his outing. The Mariners scored the first run of the game on Dae-Ho Lee’s RBI double, which drove in Cano, who reached base on a double of his own.
Rodriguez’s final stat line: 6 1/3 innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks and six strikeouts.
— That was all the Mariners scored in the inning, though, as Robbie Ross Jr. came in and struck out Gutierrez and Iannetta to end the threat.
— Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth inning, although it was anything but easy. Norichika Aoki singled with one out and then advanced to third on a wild pitch and groundout. But Tazawa got out of the jam when he struck out Nelson Cruz.
— Craig Kimbrel returned to the mound and earned the save. Kimbrel, who had been on the disabled list, ran into some trouble after Kyle Seager reached on a wild pitch on a strikeout and Mike Zunino drew a walk, but he struck out O’Malley to end the game.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Sandy Leon broke through with the first hit for either team with a single in the top of the third inning. Hanley Ramirez then reached base in the fifth inning with an opposite-field single, but he never advanced past first.
— Betts was the first Red Sox to reach scoring position thanks to a two-out double in the sixth, but Dustin Pedroia followed with a groundout to end the threat.
— Boston finally got on the board thanks to a home run by Hill in the top of the eighth inning. That made it 1-1 at the time, but Betts put them ahead for good with a solo shot of his own in the ninth.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Sleep is overrated.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox continue their four-game series in Seattle when David Price takes the mound against the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET.Â
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
