SEATTLE -- It was more of the same for the Red Sox in the series finale: plenty of offense, strong relief work....and not nearly enough from the starting pitcher.
Rick Porcello became the fourth straight Red Sox starter to allow at least six runs (he yielded seven), putting the Sox in a deep hole from which they couldn't recover in a 10-8 loss.
Staked to a 3-0 lead in the first, Porcello gave two back in the second and then was rocked for seven more in the third. An error by J.D. Martinez in left to open the inning contributed to five of the seven being unearned.
Martinez later added a three-run homer and the Sox pounded out nine hits, but couldn't come up with enough in the late going.
In the ninth, the Sox pushed a run across thanks to four straight walks from the Seattle bullpen. But with the bases loaded, Christian Vazquez fanned and Jackie Bradley Jr. grounded to second
IN-GAME COMMENTS:
7:01 A little sloppy, but impressive inning for Colten Brewer who works around a walk, a wild pitch and a single to strike out three in a scoreless seventh.
6:17 First homer of the season for Mookie Betts. Red Sox have hit six homers in the series.
5:45 Jay Bruce strikes again -- solo shot to RF off Johnson.
5:41 Martinez crushes a pitch to left for a three-run homer. With his first-inning single, he's knocked in four. But in LF, he's responsible for five unearned runs. So, minus-one for the afternoon.
5:30 As the late great Ned Martin liked to say, "If you just turned your radio on, it's happened again.'' Five runs off Porcello in the third, seven for the game and he's done. Porcello leaves, having been charged with nine runs. Brian Johnson on.
5;17 Porcello throws a hanging slider to Omar Narvaez and pays the price -- three-run homer to right.
5:09 Nunez, who drove in two with a first-inning single, gets another chance to produce but swings first pitch and pops out to shallow right, stranding two in scoring position.
4:46 Dee Gordon jumps on a first-pitch four-seamer over the heart of the plate and lines it over Bogaerts into left, scoring two.
4:50 Porcello in his first jam of the afternoon after a leadoff double by Bruce and a line single to center from Narvaez. Runners the corners, none out.
4:25 Eduardo Nunez slaps a single to left, scoring two.
4:14 J.D. Martinez singles home Devers and has now knocked in a run in each of the first four games. The last Red Sox player to do that was Shea Hillenbrand.
4:12: Red Sox get some help from left fielder Domingo Santana, who incorrectly breaks on a line drive by Rafael Devers, only to have it go over his head for a double.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners
WHEN: 4:10 ET
WHERE: T-Mobile Park
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Rick Porcello (17-7 4.28 in 2018) vs. LHP Wade LeBlanc (9-5, 3.72 in 2018)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
STARTING LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Devers 3B
Martinez LF
Bogaerts SS
Travis DH
Moreland 1B
Nunez 2B
Vazquez C
Bradley CF
MARINERS
Smith CF
Haniger RF
Santana LF
Bruce 1B
Narvaez C
Beckham SS
Healy 3B
Vogerlbach DH
Gordon 2B
WHAT'S UP: The Sox lost 6-5 Saturday night, dropping to 1-2 on the season...The series finale takes place today, the first stop on the Red Sox, three-city, 11-game opening road trip...Last year, the Red Sox were 37-15 in the final games of series, including 26-9 on getaway days...Nineteen of the last 34 games the Sox and Mariners have played in Seattle have been decided by one run, including six of the last nine...Boston relievers have not been scored upon in their last 8.2 innings pitches and have retired 21 of the last 24 hitters they faced...In the last two games, Seattle hitters were just 2-for-25 (.080) against the Sox' bullpen...Four relievers have tossed perfect innings in the last two games...J.D. Martinez, who led all of baseball in RBI last season, has picked up where he left off, knocking in a run in each of the first three games this season...The last time a Red Sox hitter began the year with an RBI in each of the first four games was 2003 when Shea Hillenbrand did it...Rick Porcello, today's starter, is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in five career starts at this ballpark...Among Mariners hitters, Porcello has had trouble with Edwin Encarnacion (13-for-43, three homers, 10 RBI) while having success against Mallex Smith (4-for-22)...Wade LeBlanc one-hit the Sox here last summer. Martinez is 4-for-9 with a homer and two RBI over his career, while Xander Bogaerts is hitless in nine at-bats...Martinez is making his first start in the outfield this season, playing left while Andrew Benintendi gets the day off...The Sox also returned Mookie Betts to the leadoff spot for the afternoon after Betts hit second in each of the first three games.
PRE-GAME NOTES
- As a precaution, Andrew Benintendi is out of the lineup Sunday after fouling a ball off his right kneecap in Saturday's game. Benintendi remained in the game the rest of the way, but the area was predictably sore after the game. That led to Alex Cora sitting Benintendi and having J.D. Martinez in left field. "He told me that he wanted to play today,'' said Cora. "Obviously, he wasn't going to play. We'll sit him one day and he should be ready for (Monday in Oakland). After what happened (Saturday), it makes sense. A lefty on the mound anway. I was going to try to find a day for him during the week, so it worked out perfectly for me.'' Cora added that Benintendi is available off the bench.
- Dustin Pedroia (knee) is making progress in extended spring training in Fort Myers and is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment in Greenville mid-week. He played eight inning earlier today and will be off Monday before playing nine inning in Fort Myers Tuesday. Cora wasn't ready to commit to Pedroia being active for the home opener. "I don't want to get ahead of myself,'' said Cora. "So far, so good. There are no setbacks. We'll se how he deals with nine (innings), then how he does with back-to-back.'' The Sox like having Pedroia in South Carolina because of the warmer weather.
- Steve Pearce (calf) will play in Fort Myers Monday. "He's moving well,'' said Cora. "He's getting closer.''