The Boston Red Sox may not be where they'd like to be in the standings right now, but on Sunday afternoon, a bit of good luck helped them avoid a sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners.
Mariners Vs. Red Sox: Boston Salvages Series Thanks To Stroke Of Luck
The starting matchup of Tim Wakefield against Felix Hernandez looked like a bad one for the Sox, but Wakefield cruised, and Boston was able to take an early lead when David Ortiz hit a third-inning double off the Monster to bring two runners home.
The 2-0 lead lasted into the top of the sixth, when Wakefield was removed and Bobby Jenks came out of the bullpen. Jenks couldn't protect the team's advantage, as he issued consecutive bases-loaded walks to Jack Cust and Luis Rodriguez to even the score. Michael Saunders followed with a dangerous line drive into left field, but Carl Crawford hauled it in.
Tied at two, nobody budged until the bottom of the ninth. Facing Jamey Wright with one out and none on, Jed Lowrie lifted a deep fly ball into right field that Ichiro lost in the sun. The ball bounced off of his body and rolled to the corner, and Lowrie was able to reach third base with ease. Said Ichiro:
“Right when it hit the sky, I couldn’t see the ball at all,” Ichiro said through translator Antony Suzuki. “It just disappeared.”
The fortuitous triple put the Red Sox in excellent position to walk off, and although Marco Scutaro followed with a weak groundball for the second out, Carl Crawford then came up and smacked a sharp grounder back up the middle and into center field for the winning hit.
With the win, the Red Sox improved to 12-15, while the Mariners dropped to 13-16, losing the final game of an otherwise perfect road trip. The Red Sox will now prepare for a home series against the Angels, while the Mariners return home to face the Rangers.
For more on the Mariners and Red Sox, please check out team blogs Lookout Landing and Over The Monster.
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