SEATTLE -- Finding out who the closer was proved to be only the second-most dramatic part of this night.
Trailing by two in the ninth and having squandered a golden chance to tie or take the lead the previous inning, the Red Sox rallied on the strength of a pinch-hit, three-run homer from Mitch Moreland to edge the Seattle Mariners, 7-6.
Matt Barnes was called upon to get the first save of the season and retired the Mariners in order, with the final two outs coming via strikeouts.
Boston hit four homers on the night, with the first three -- from Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Christian Vazquez - all coming with the bases empty.
The Sox had to overcome a second straight poor outing from their starter as Nathan Eovaldi was battered for three homers and six runs allowed in five innings.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners
WHEN: 10:10 p.m. (ET)
WHERE: T-Mobile Park
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-7, 3.81 in 2018) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 1.93)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
12:55 Bizarre end to that inning, as Eduardo Nunez tops a ball to the right of the mound, fielded by Cory Gearin. Nunez then stops between home and first as Gearrin throws home for the force on Benintendi, while Omar Narvaez throws down to first to retire Nunez.
12:40 It seems difficult to believe given how the night has unfolded, but the Red Sox now have the potential tying run at the plate in the person of Mookie Betts with no out in the eighth.
12:36 The solo homer barrage continues for the Red Sox with a bases-empty blast by Christian Vazquez. The Sox have three homers tonight, accounting for all but one of their runs.
11:57 Last season, it took J.D. Martinez seven games before he hit his first homer of the season; this year, it comes in Game 2 - a deep blast to straightaway center -- and brings the Sox back within three runs.
11:45 Nice backhand snare by Devers, who makes a five-hop throw across the infield that should have gotten the out, but Sam Travis bobbles the throw and Devers has his second error in as many games.
11:38 Sam Travis now 2-for-2, with two opposite-field singles. Neither of them was hard-hit, but at this point, the Red Sox will take whatever offense they can get.
11:22 Booming double to straightaway center by Ryon Healy and a sac fly from Dee Gordon and the Mariners now lead 6-1 and have a runner on third with one out. Game in danger of slipping away here from Eovaldi.
10:55 Rare mistake by Mookie Betts, who thought a ball was going foul to third and didn't immediately run hard out of the box, making it easier for Ryon Healy to make the play on him at first for the third out of the third.
10:44 T-Mobile Park has become Homer Haven for the home team. Omar Narvaez lines a homer right down the line in right, the third for the Mariners tonight and eighth (!!) in 10 innings in this series. Ugly.
10:30 Xander Bogaerts clubs the Red Sox first homer of the season, cutting the Mariners' lead in half. My guess: Bogaerts gets to 30 this year after establishing a career high with 23 last season.
10:26 Three hitters in and the Mariners are teeing off again. This time, another cutter that seemed to end up in Domingo Santana's swing path and landed in the seats in left center. If you're keeping track at home, that would be...ahem....seven homers allowed in the season's first nine innings.
10:18 That didn't take long. Seattle leadoff hitter Mallex Smith turns on an inside cutter and hits it out to right, giving the Mariners a very quick 1-0 lead. That's six homers in nine innings for the M's so far in the series.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Nunez 2B
Devers 3B
Travis 1B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C
MARINERS
Smith CF
Hanover RF
Santana LF
Bruce 1B
Encarnacion DH
Beckham SS
Narvaez C
Healy 3B
Gordon 2B
WHAT'S UP: After dropping the season opener 12-4 Thursday, the Red Sox will try to pull even in the series (and for the season) with tonight's second game...The Sox haven't begun a season 0-2 since 2012...Two members of the Red Sox' starting lineup -- Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers -- made their major league debut here, with Benintendi debuting on Aug. 2, 2016 and Devers here, almost exactly a year later, on July 25, 2017...It shouldn't have been much of a surprise that J.D. Martinez knocked in the first run of the 2019 Red Sox season Thursday. After all, he's had the best RBI/AB ratio in the majors in each of the last seasons and since the start of the 2017 season, his 235 RBI rank him third behind only Nolan Arenado (240) and Khris Davis (238)...Martinez has hit .350 with a .961 OPS at T-Mobile Park...Mookie Betts became the first player to win the AL MVP and follow up the next season opener with a three-hit game since Justin Morneau (2006-07)….When Chris Sale was shelled for seven runs in the opener Thursday, it marked the first time a Red Sox pitcher had allowed that many since Pedro Martinez gave up eight in just three innings in 2002....Tonight's game will mark the first time Nathan Eovaldi has pitched in a regular season game in March or April since the 2016 season...This will also mark Eovaldi's second career appearance in this ballpark and first in seven seasons. The last outing in Seattle came with the Dodgers in 2012...Among Mariners' hitters, Tim Beckham has had some success, going 3-for-7 with an RBI while Edwin Encarnacion is just 2-for-9...In the opener Thursday, eight different starters in the Boston lineup collected base hits and all nine reached base via hit or walk. The last time that happened for the Red Sox was in 2002 against Toronto...The Sox will be getting their first look at Japenese lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who has made one start already for the Mariners, in his native Japan...
PRE-GAME NOTES
- Alex Cora reiterated Friday that Chris Sale is completely healthy and expects to see an increase in Sale's velocity as the season gets underway. Sale was mostly 92-93 mph with his fastball Thursday. "His stuff wasn't there,'' said Cora. "The slider wasn't good, the fastball was erratic and the changeup was OK. I talked to him. He's healthy. He knows a little more about himself than me, as far as his delivery and all that. He'll work on it these next few days and he'll be ready for the next one. He feels he's a little bit off with his extension and all that stuff they talk about it. But the most important thing is that he's healthy. When you don't see that 98-99 mph, people are going to ask questions. We understand that. But the people who paid understand to what we did last year understand that that before that Texas start (in May), his velocity wasn't there. Talking to Chris, he understands where he's at and what he needs to do. He's going to be fine. From my end, (being) healthy, that's the most important thing.''
- The Sox will send Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound Saturday for his first start, hoping that he displays more efficiency and aggressiveness on the mound. "I challenged him in spring training, right away, and he did a great job attacking guys,'' said Cora. Asked if the Sox believe there's more for Rodriguez to tap into, Cora said: "We all do. We feel that way. When you think about it, he's been a good pitcher for a while, but his ceiling is way up there.''
- In Fort Myers, Dustin Pedroia got four at-bats in an extended spring training game. Meanwhile, Steve Pearce ran and is expected to see some game action Monday.
- Cora dropped Rafael Devers out of the third spot, but told Devers yesterday morning not to view it as a demotion after the third baseman hit No. 3 in the opener.