Red Sox blunder in Seattle

SEATTLE -- The kid, who was winless in his first three years in pro ball and has an elbow that should be wearing a hospital tag for all the surgeries he's had (four), pitched better than anyone had a right to expect.

But 24-year-old Kason Gabbard, whom David Ortiz dubbed as a dead ringer for Steve Stifler (``American Pie") after he made his major league debut yesterday, was denied a victory on a day in which his more seasoned teammates stumbled through a 5-2 defeat to the Seattle Mariners before a sellout crowd of 46,118 at Safeco Field.

The loss, coupled with the Yankees' 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays, leaves Boston 2 1/2 games ahead of New York in the AL East.

The tipoff that Gabbard's first big league experience would not end happily was the appearance by the patron saints of lost Sox causes, Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez, neither of whom had been seen during the five-game winning streak but whose names will be found in the box score marking the end of it.

The Sox managed just four hits, including Mike Lowell's 13th home run, off Seattle's 20-year-old prodigy, Felix Hernandez, and two relievers. J.J. Putz pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Tavarez, who replaced Gabbard with two on and one out in a 2-2 tie in the sixth, was victimized by a rare throwing error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who tried to shovel the ball to third baseman Lowell only to have the ball strike base runner Eduardo Perez in the back.

The ball rolled into foul territory, allowing Perez to score, and after Tavarez loaded the bases in the seventh on two walks and a bloop hit that fell between center fielder Coco Crisp and Gonzalez, Tavarez was done in again by Perez, who grounded a two-run single up the middle.

``He threw his bat at it and it found a hole," Tavarez said of Perez's game-breaker. ``He's a veteran guy, he had a 1-and-2 count, and anything close he was going to get.

``I [stink]," Tavarez said. ``I can't get anybody out. [Stinks], bro. It's tough. Every time I try to hold onto a lead (sic), I can't."

Tavarez hadn't pitched since last Sunday. ``But that doesn't matter. I'm not using that as a reason. Throw strikes and can't get anybody out, that [stinks]."

Lowell said Gonzalez, after fielding Kenji Johjima's slow grounder, took a calculated gamble that the third baseman fully expected the shortstop to win.

``He makes so many spectacular plays, you don't expect him not to hold onto a ball and not make a play," Lowell said. ``It just didn't work out for us. I think he was playing the percentages. If it doesn't hit him, the throw beats him."

If it hadn't been for a controversial call by first base umpire Larry Poncino, who ruled that itinerant first baseman Ortiz had lifted his foot from the bag just enough for him to call Perez safe on his roller to Lowell, Gabbard might not have had to yield to Tavarez. Gabbard, the ninth rookie pitcher to appear in a game for the Sox this season, had set down eight of the previous nine Seattle hitters when Perez dribbled a grounder down the third base line. Lowell, whose home run in the second had accounted for Boston's first run, made a nice barehanded pickup and threw over to first in time to retire Perez chugging down the line.

But the throw was low, and when Ortiz, playing first because Kevin Youkilis had been given a day off, reached for the ball, his shoe elevated enough to persuade Poncino that Perez was entitled to the bag. Sox manager Terry Francona came out to argue, but to no avail.

``I don't know what [Poncino] was looking at," Ortiz said. ``I've been trying to stay away from getting in arguments with umpires, but . . ."

Gabbard, who flew here on his own Friday and was not told until late that afternoon that he would be pitching yesterday, gave up singles to the first two batters, Ichiro Suzuki and Willie Bloomquist, but escaped with the help of a double play started by Lowell.

In the second, the Mariners loaded the bases on walks sandwiched around an infield roller by Yuniesky Betancourt, a ball that died on the grass a few feet from the third base bag. Suzuki, who'd slashed an infield hit to the left side his first at-bat, this time lined a sinker into center field for a two-run single.

The Sox, with Lowell driving a 96-mile-per-hour fastball from Hernandez into the left-field seats in the second, tied the score in the third when Crisp walked, stole second, and scored on Ortiz's base hit. Manny Ramírez followed with a line single to right, one he stood to watch for three full seconds (``I think he lost the ball," Francona said) before running, but Trot Nixon struck out.

``He throws hard," Lowell said of Hernandez, who made his debut as a teenager last season and was marked as the next great thing in many circles, a projection not supported by his 9-8 record and 4.76 ERA to date.

`` Good slider, good curveball. Pretty polished. For a 20-year old, that's pretty impressive. He's got the potential to be a tremendous pitcher."

Gabbard has not heard similar platitudes thrown his way since he was drafted in the 29th round by the Sox in 2000. But yesterday, Francona suggested the lefthander just might surprise a few people.

``I'm telling you, I think this kid can pitch," Francona said. ``He sunk his fastball, he threw his breaking ball and changeup over the plate, he held runners. I know these guys [Mariners] haven't seen him, and there's something to that, but I thought he pitched a major league game. I was really impressed."