Final: Mariners 3, Red Sox 2
MARINERS WALK OFF (7:18, END 9, 3-2 Ms)
Gutierrez rolled a ball through the left side, scoring Cedeno and giving Seattle the win and the series. The Red Sox went 2-4 on the road trip, the last trip they make to the West Coast this season.
GREEN BUMMED (7:14, BOT 9, 2-2)
The Mariners have the winning run in scoring position because of Green's second error. Ramirez struck out Johjima swinging. Betancourt lined to the left side, where Lowell made a great tumbling stab. Cedeno grounded into the hole. Green made a nice backhanded play on a high hop, but he airmailed the throw into the first row beside the Mariners dugout. Ramirez walked Ichiro intentionally, putting the fate of the game on Gutierrez.
NO AND NO (7:06, MID 8, 2-2)
Ellsbury popped to second, and Pedroia flied to right. Inning over. Ramon Ramirez will pitch the ninth and will be caught by George Kottaras, who pinch-ran for Varitek in the top of the inning.
SOX THREATENING (7:04, TOP 8, 2-2)
After Okajima barely squeaked by the eighth -- Branyan pushed Drew to the wall with a sky-high fly ball -- the Sox might score here. Bailey led off with a strikeout, but Varitek following by ripping a double down the right-field line off of David Aardsma. Green walked, putting two on for Ellsbury.
STILL TIED (6:35, MID 8, 2-2)
If the Red Sox are going to win this game in nine innings, they've got three outs to work with. Lowe impressively shut down the Red Sox in order. He struck out Lowell swinging. Drew struck out looking at a 99-m.p.h. fastball on the corner. Baldelli swung through a 98-m.p.h. fastball to end the inning.
Baldelli is 0 for 11 this series with a walk, and Red Sox designated hitters are 0 for their last 21 combined.
DELCARMEN, PEDROIA GET IT DONE (6:29, END 7, 2-2)
Ichiro seemingly had a hit when he bounced a ball into the hole on the right side. Pedroia hustled over and slid, but it still appeared he wouldn’t have a chance to make the play. But then he hopped up and rifled a throw to Bailey, just in time to nab Ichiro. Delcarmen made it stand by striking out Gutierrez looking.
Mark Lowe has replaced White on the mound for Seattle.
MASTERSON DONE (6:21, BOT 7, 2-2)
Masterson's day is over with one out in the seventh after having thrown 93 pitches. The Red Sox had both Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima up in the bullpen and went with Delcarmen to face Ichiro. To start the inning, Masterson struck out Betancourt looking at an outside slider. Cedeno reached when he tapped a ball toward short. Green made a charging, bare-handed play, but Cedeno's headfirst slide barely beat the throw. Francona wants a fresh pitcher to face Ichiro, who has already won one game this series with his bat. One on, one out.
TOUGH DAY FOR BAY (6:12, MID 7, 2-2)
With Pedroia on first after a two-out walk, Bay struck out looking to end the inning. It's a rare poor offensive day for Bay, who is 0 for 4.
WHA' HAPPENED? (6:04, END 6, 2-2)
The inning ended with a very strange play, and with Masterson having posted his fifth zero in six innings. To start the inning, Branyan struck out for the second time since going deep in his first at-bat. Balentien shot a one-hopper at Green, who let the ball hit the palm of his glove and trickle away for an error.
Then things got weird. Johnson dropped a bunt down. Varitek scooped the ball in front of home and fired to first. Johnson acted as if the ball hit his hand and jogged to first. Balentien had reached second, then started walking back to first, thinking it a foul ball. Bailey still had the ball, and he fired to Green, who reached out and tagged Balentien barely on his back as he scampered too late back to the base. Weird play, and another double play in a game full of 'em.
VARGAS DONE, WHITE ESCAPES (5:56, MID 6, 2-2)
Sean White replace Vargas and inherited the two-on, one-out jam that Vargas created by walking Drew and Bailey. But Varitek, batting from the left side, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Both teams have used the DP as a weapon -- Masterson got out of his own two-on, one-out jam last inning with a 6-4-3 double play by Beltre.
SOX LEAVE BASES LOADED (5:38, BOT 5, 2-2)
The Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth on singles by Green and Ellsbury (who extended his hitting streak to 13 games) and a walk to Pedroia. But Jason Bay popped foul to first, and Lowell grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to let Vargas off the hook.
In their half of the inning, the Mariners are threatening with men on first and third and one out. Ichiro hit an infield single, which Gutierrez followed with a single to left. Ichiro moved to third on a deep fly to center from Griffey.
MASTERSON THROUGH FOUR (5:18, END 4, 2-2)
Betancourt reached on an infield single off of Lowell's glove to put two men on with two out, but Masterson got out of the inning when Cedeno flied out to right.
DREW GOES DEEP (5:14, BOT 4, 2-2)
Drew tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the fourth, a monstrous drive deep to right. The Mariners have a man on first with two outs in the bottom half after a single by Johnson.
MASTERSON SETTLES (4:59, END 3, 2-1 Ms)
After surrendering plenty of hard-hit balls last inning, Masterson cruised through 1-2-3 third. Franklin Gutierrez grounded out to Nick Green at short. Griffey ripped a ball to right, and Drew made a jogging catch on the warning track heading toward the corner. Beltre struck out swinging at a slider outside and in the dirt.
SOX DOUBLED UP (4:54, MID 3, 2-1 Ms)
Dustin Pedroia led off with a hard single to left-center. Jason Bay flied to left. Mike Lowell ripped a ball to third. Beltre took a step to his left, dove, hopped to his feet and fired to second. Lopez made a quick turn and nailed Lowell at first to end the inning on a spectacular double play.
MORE TROUBLE FOR MASTERSON (4:47, END 2, 2-1 Ms)
Masterson seemed headed for an OK inning after Branyan's homer. Rob Johnson struck out swinging after Wladimir Balentien grounded out to third. Betancourt followed with a two-out double to left-center, testing Ellsbury's arm and succeeding. Ronny Cedeno belted a pitch to the gap in right-center, scoring Betancourt and racing to third for a triple. Ichiro flied to left to end the inning, but the Sox now face a deficit.
BRANYAN'S BRAWN (4:41, BOT 2, 1-1)
Masterson gave up his first run with the first pitch of the inning, which Russell Branyan clobbered over the right-field fence.
SOX TAKE EARLY LEAD (4:37, MID 2, 1-0 SOX)
The Red Sox got to Vargas thanks to a poor defensive play by shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, but they could have had more. J.D. Drew started a rally with a one-out single to right. Rocco Baldelli followed with a slow grounder to first. Betancourt fielded the ball and threw hard to Jose Lopez's right, pulling him off the base and allowing both Drew and Baldelli to be safe when they both should have been out. Jeff Bailey singled to left, and Jason Varitek drove a sacrifice fly to left with the bases loaded to score Drew. Nick Green reached on an infield single up the middle, but Jacoby Ellsbury left the bases loaded when he tapped back to Vargas.
FAST FIRST (4:22, END 1, 0-0)
The Red Sox went down in order against Jason Vargas, a 26-year-old pitcher who entered with a 1.04 ERA and who is making the second start of his season and 22d start of his four-year career. Masterson allowed a leadoff single to Ichiro, which extended Ichiro's hitting streak to 11 games. But he set down the next three batters, striking out Adrian Beltre to end the inning.
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Masterson is overmatched. Time to go back to the pen. His breaking ball command is way too inconsistent. Once again, the rotation leaves the Sox on shaky ground - although a good win for Beckett last night, hopefully he's coming around.
I disagree completely. Masterson adjusts well. That's the mark of an effective starter.
bases loaded, no outs... think the Sox are gonna score? this is the SOX. of course not!
Really makes you wonder when the Sox can't dominate one of the weakest teams in the AL this year. I won't look good if the our boys don't take two out of three in Seattle.
Theo, please find a real shortstop, the torment continues, Sox should have kept Orlando Cabrera......
"please find a real shortstop"
The position be jinxed. 'tis the curse of Nomar, 'tis.
My frustration with umpiring continues. Cedeno batting in the bottom of the 7th with 2 strikes, pitch 3 is clearly in the strike zone, but it's called a ball. The at bat continues and Cedeno ends up on first on an infield hit. Who evaluates umpires (especially at home plate) and how often are they evaluated? Are there any sanctions for missing more than a minimum amount of calls?
i would rather have ortiz hitting .208 then rocco hitting .200. wow that was a bad signing.
"Red Sox designated hitters are 0 for their last 21 combined"
The position be jinxed. 'tis the curse of Papi, 'tis.
Shortstop is less of an issue than timely hitting...where are the clutch hits. Event the middle of the order is quite today. Twice bases loaded with less than two outs and nothing. Masterson did indeed adjust, I stand corrected. The kid got it together, the offense has let him down.
Hmmm...Nick Green air mails one into the seat...maybe shortstop is the issue...
AGGH. Son of a. One throw across to first to get out of the 9th and it's BOTCHED by Green. I can't believe this. The Sox lost on an error followed by a hit to the Mariners. This is just getting worse. Our vaunted bullpen is doing all it can and pitching stellar, but some things can't be overcome.
"maybe shortstop is the issue..."
Indeed.
Theo and Co. have to make radical changes to this lineup. The pitching on this roadtrip has been stellar and the offense has not been doing anything productive to compliment that. The fielding errors leading to runs, zero production from any DHs, failure to score with RISP, etc. is starting to come back to bite this team.
ROID SOX NATION!!!!!!!!
Just as I was getting faith in Julio Lugo....and if Green is such a defense liability and Velasquez is better defensive, in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, don't you want to put him in? You would hope number 9 doesn't come back around. Anyway, just as I was getting faith in Julio Lugo, he seems to be as fragile as we think of our right fielder...Jed Lowrie, get better soon!!!
AGGH. Son of a. One toss to 1st from getting out of the inning, and an error loses the game. This is just getting worse.
The rest of the AL East keeps winning one-run games while we keep losing them. As soon as Drew tied it at 2 I had the sick feeling that we would end up losng the game 3-2. As soon as the Yankees went to extra innings tied at 2 I knew they would win 3-2. Why is that? Bay hits one inches from the wall on Friday that could have won it for us and an error and a seeing-eye grounder costs us the game today. Someone please tell me that this will end soon...
Fer cryin' out loud, we lose the game on an ERROR? I've seen some super defensive plays by the infield and outfield (opponents know they can run on the Sox pitchers), Lugo's hitting like a beast, and Drew is actually trying to have an impact instead of striking out, but this hit-and-miss approach can't make up for everything. What's plaguing this team? Manny left some malaise behind when he left town.
need a ss to win at this level you idiots
Do the red sox know the word bunt? It is beyond logic that the team just does not use the speed it has. Creat runs when you have a drop in power. Just until it returns. Everyone know the sox wont bunt. It is pathetic.
Oh great....and now Matsuzaka comes back and we get to suffer through 120 pitch two hour five inning thrillers...Have the Sox ever thought of trying a new pitching concept? Three or four innings max for everyone except Paps and Okajima who stay with their usual one or, on rare occasion, two inning assignments. "Starters" can pitch on less rest, and those ugly fifth and sixth inning implosions will stop. (I know - it's crazy, but I have just about had it.) And when are they going to give Buchholz another try? (Maybe Lester needs to trade places with him for a while.) Bring back Big Papi!
"Betancourt fielded the ball and threw hard to Jose Lopez's right" I would just like to bring up that Lopez did not play today.
Unfortunately, I was only able to view the game via the internet. If Nick Green made a 2 base throwing error and there were two out when the winning run scored, how is the pitcher charged with an earned run. It is bad enough he has to be charged with the loss
When the Sox traded Ramirez they destroyed the effectiveness of Ortiz. He will be pitched around constantly even if Youklis follows him because Youkilis isn't even close to being the threat a Ramirez was. Youkilis also is currently hitting 50 points above where he belongs and will come pack to the pack.
This year the sox finish no higher then 3rd.
"the rest of the AL east keeps winning one-run games while we keep losing them..."
Gregg, the difference is the comfort of home vs. the road. seriously, i live in nyc, can't catch much red sox baseball at times, but ANYBODY watching the yankees over the last two homestands suspects by know that something is a-foot with the umpiring at that new mega-mall-with-a-baseball-field of theirs, i mean, some body MUST be trying to fill seats by any means necessary. as of this morning, the minnessota twins should unquestionably be 3-0 this series, period. go back and watch those dog gone encores, they are absolutely ridiculous. then, suddenly yesterday michael kay and paul o'neill can't shut up on the air about kate hudson, donald trump, bill o'reilly and how many other celebrities are at the 'stadium'. typical front runner publicity stunt. same thing when the rays were in town last week, should've swept easily, did not. as a sox fan i can only rejoice in the fact that this multi billion dollar enterprise can't sell its so called "premium" tickets, is BARELY beating weak teams (yes, the twins are weak) AT home and IN (questionably gotten) extra innings; and even the yankees can't win on walk-offs all the time brother. we on the other hand are BARELY being beaten at AWAY games, by stronger teams (yes, angels are strong) while our lineup is decimated at best. so to the extent that it is possible to, let's take pleasure in that, if not the prospect of a youkilis, ramirez, pedroia and anderson infield that can not get here soon enough. how winning is that? and oh yeah P.S: with the fish out of water you'd better believe ramirez WILL return to the longer waves he departed from.
There had better be a sweep in the cards at home against Toronto this week or it's going to be a long, long, long rest of the season : (
As far as not scoring with the bases loaded and nobody out.......it happens. Not often, but it does happen. It's time to find a shortstop that can catch and throw the ball accurately. The Red Sox defense is at or near the bottom of the league. Sox must be strong up the middle to win. I cringe every time a ground ball is hit to either Lugo or Green. Both are good enough hitters. But I would sacrifice a little offense in lieu of a player who is solid defensively.
It's still fairly early and the Red Sox ALWAYS struggle on the West Coast, so I'm willing to give this road trip a mulligan. HOWEVER, if the Sox continue to struggle against the Blue Jays and Mets over this homestand and find themselves 5-6 games back and in 3rd place when it concludes, then it WILL be time for Theo to DO SOMETHING.
After all, I don't too many Sox fans are going to tolerate the looming possibility a 4TH PLACE .500 TEAM 10 GAMES BACK in July with Clay Buchholz and David Bowden still pitching in Pawtucket and Daniel Bard relegated to bullpen duty (while Jon Lester, Dice-K, Brad Penny, and possibly Josh Beckett struggle), David Ortiz STILL batting in the #3 spot (despite his Jason Varitek 2008 average), and more errors at short stop than most teams combined.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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