*Photo from TSN*
The Boston Red Sox were entering the series finale against the Seattle Mariners in need of a win, to both keep pace with division rivals in the wild card picture, and to distance themselves in the chase from Seattle, who is right on the heels of the 3 team AL East race. Hunter Renfroe homered, the offense scored 6 times in the 10th, and the Red Sox defeated the Mariners 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon.
With the win, the Red Sox kept a 3 way tie for the top wild card spot intact, keeping tied with their division rivals, the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. They also made the gap between them and the Mariners 4 games, which is a big gap as the regular season starts to wind down. It's playoff baseball in September.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said "It's playoff baseball. It feels that way. And it's fun, to be honest with you. When you give your all and then at the end of the game you're exhausted for the right reasons. You got to give this club credit. They went on this road trip knowing that it was going to be a tough one."
Renfroe got the game started quickly, with a solo home run to center field making it 1-0 Red Sox to begin the game. In the second inning, an RBI groundout from Kevin Plawecki, plus an RBI double from Jose Iglesias, made it a 3-0 Red Sox lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Jarred Kelenic scored on a double and throwing error, and Kyle Seager laced a two run double, tying the game 3-3. Then came the 10th.
Jack Lopez started the inning by scoring on a passed ball. Then, JD Martinez hit an RBI single into left field. Kyle Schwarber followed that up with a two run single. Christian Vazquez then added an exclamation point with a two run double, making it 9-3 Red Sox after the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 10th, the Mariners got one run on a groundout, but that was all they could get.
Tanner Houck got the start for Boston, lasting 4 1/3 innings in his start, getting a no decision to stay at 0-4. He allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and one walk, striking out 7 hitters. Adam Ottavino got the win, improving to 7-3 with 1 1/3 shutout innings in the 8th and 9th. Josh Taylor, Garrett Richards, Austin Davis, and Martin Perez also pitched, with Perez being the only one to allow a run, but it was unearned. The Boston bullpen finishes their road trip with a 0.68 ERA.
Ottavino said of the bullpen's performance that "This road trip, I feel like we've been putting in some heavy innings out of the 'pen and just trying to do our job and keep the games close, give ourselves a chance. The Seattle broadcast was talking about how they had the bullpen advantage in this series, and I think, at least I did, I took it personally. I'm glad that we were able to be the difference the last two nights."
Erik Swanson got the loss for the Mariners, dropping to 0-3 this season, allowing 4 of the 6 runs in the 10th, while failing to record an out. Justus Sheffield was responsible for the other two runs. It helped waste a good start from Marco Gonzales, who allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and two walks, striking out 7 hitters in 6 innings pitched. Casey Sadler, Paul Sewald, Diego Castillo, and Yohan Ramirez also pitched.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said "I have nothing but praise and how we approached things today and how we got after it again. Our bullpen guys at the end did a heck of a job there to keep it tied. We just ran out of juice there in the 10th inning. A game like that, you need to need a few breaks. You need a bounce or ball to go fair when it's just barely foul, things like that. And obviously, we did not get that to happen for us at the end."
After a day off on Thursday, the Red Sox return home to face the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, where Chris Sale is scheduled to come off the Covid-19 IL and start the game for the Red Sox. The Mariners face the Kansas City Royals on Friday, with Chris Flexen getting the start.
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