Red Sox Fall to Mariners

Despite a solid effort by Boston Red Sox starting pitcher, John Lester, the Mariners came back to win 5-1 at Safeco field Saturday night – making it their 5 th win in the last 21 games . In all honesty, Seattle won despite quite a few things, including not a few faults of their own. The revolving door of pitchers coming out of the Mariners’ bullpen is not exactly a sign of a confident defense, but it somehow worked magic against Boston’s offense, rendering them unable to gain any momentum and pull out once Seattle started rolling. Figgins was in the line-up but didn’t receive the warmest welcome from the hometown crowd as he stepped to the plate. He was partially redeemed by a terrific sliding backhand grab in the second to out Kevin Cash. Obviously the Seattle fans aren’t as lenient as Wakamatsu, considering the dugout blowout was so recent. The Mariners’ offense began as ineffectively as they come. Lester was untouchable –striking out 13 in all - until the sixth inning, managing to pitch a few perfect innings. Eric Patterson couldn’t hold on to shortstop Jack Wilson’s fly ball; Wilson raced to second while the ball dropped to the ground for an error.

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Seattle rallied, though, after Saunders capitalized on a mistake by Lester and slammed a homer down the right-field line – claiming the first of the Mariners’ five runs of the night. Milton Bradley tripled, amazingly, to lead off the eighth, and things really started to heat up for Seattle. The Mariners began laying on some insurance runs to ensure Boston remained straggling behind. Wilson caught a squeeze bunt off Lester, bringing Bradley home to secure a two-run lead for the Mariners. Manny Delcarmen came in to relieve Lester, unfortunately for the Red Sox, also in the eighth. The relief pitcher somehow managed to hit Jose Lopez while the bases were loaded, sending Ichiro across the plate to score yet another run – securing the win for Seattle. Ortiz’s homer in the fourth inning was Boston’s first and only run of the night. After battling back and forth with Seattle in this road series, the Red Sox realize they need more than a star pitcher to pull them through once the Mariners decide they want to play.

By: Shalan Moore
MLBCenter.com Staff Writer

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