BSJ Game Report: Mariners 6, Red Sox 2 - Boston's offense, bullpen can't pick up Pivetta in third straight loss

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Mariners, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Pivetta dominates, but no run support: Nick Pivetta went 7.1 strong innings for the Red Sox, but it wasn't enough as the Mariners blew the game open against Joe Jacques in the eighth, handing Boston its third straight loss by way of a 6-2 final. Cal Raleigh homered twice for Seattle in the second and seventh innings. Jarren Duran scored almost immediately to start the game, working a walk before stealing second and taking home on a pair of errors. Boston couldn't muster any more run support until it was too late in the ninth, finishing the game with one extra-base hit. 

"That was huge for us, [Pivetta] going deep into the game with where we were bullpen-wise," Alex Cora told reporters. "I told him that was huge for today and the next few days. ... He was amazing for us. That was really good. ... We got a few hits, but we didn't hit with men in scoring position."

TURNING POINT

Bottom of the seventh and eighth innings: Raleigh’s second homer of the game felt like a gut punch against Pivetta, who had been cruising to that point, and for a Boston lineup that hasn’t had the offense clicking of late. If that was the gut punch, the eighth inning was the knockout blow. Jacques struggled to find anything out of the bullpen as the Mariners exploded for four runs in the eighth. Julio Rodriguez’s two-RBI single down the right field line was a back-breaker to make it 4-1.

THREE UP

Nick Pivetta: Continues to eat innings, and quality ones at that. Made it into the eighth inning, giving up four hits before giving up the double to Cade Marlowe that ended his night. In all, had 10 strikeouts and no walks, surrendering three earned runs. Pivetta's pitches played off each other really well. His fastball was effective early when the Mariners were sitting on curveballs. Mixed it up with strong sequencing as the start went on. Of the six swings he generated on his curveball, five were whiffs, per Baseball Savant. Coming out of the bullpen for his start as the faux opener was a nice touch and a good way to keep up a routine, too. His strong start was especially important for a depleted bullpen, even if it was in vain. Imagine he has to remain in the rotation for the time being. Deserved much better than he got tonight.

"It was good to get back on the mound again. It was good to go out and do my job. I felt pretty good for the most part," Pivetta told reporters. "A couple mistakes here and there, but stayed in command for most of the game."

Jarren Duran: Duran started the game off with a bang. Came back from an 0-2 count to work a walk. Stole second, then advanced to third on a throwing error on the catcher before popping right up and taking home after a throwing error on the center fielder. Speed and hustle. Added a single and had a solid day in the field, too. 

"I was absolutely gassed," Duran told reporters. "It's always fun to cause some havoc on the bases, you know, especially in the first inning, getting an important run. I was kind of running around and having some fun. When that ball bounced back to the pitcher, I was like, 'I'm so hosed right now.' But I was able to get a good slide in and score."

Cora said, "First of all, that first play of the game... I don't know how. We were talking about it like, he has the speed, but the stamina, and you've got to be powerful, too. Most of us, when we get up to go to the plate [from third], halfway through it you're out of gas. He just kept going. I've never seen anything like that. That was fun to watch, and the at-bats were pretty outstanding from Pitch 1. Just battling pitches, taking pitches."

Rafael Devers: In a night when the Sox were starved for any sort of offense, you'll take what you can get. Devers went 3-for-4 with a strikeout. Accounted for a third of Boston's hits. 

FOUR DOWN

Masataka Yoshida: Yoshida is slumping hard. Has gone without a hit in five straight games, going 0-for-18 in that span. Had some tough luck tonight, whether it was a great play by J.P. Crawford to end the game or other hard contact that didn't find a gap. Still, with the offense also in a slump, Boston needs more out of Yoshida.

Joe Jacques: Just a non-competitive outing from Jacques. Either couldn't find the zone or left too many pitches over the plate. Three earned runs on three hits, a walk and a hit-batsman in just two-thirds of an inning. It was sink or swim for Jacques with Boston thin in the bullpen, and he sank. 

Alex Verdugo: Had a single, but other than that, Verdugo also had a fairly non-competitive night. Went 1-for-4 at the plate, grounding into a double play and striking out once. Lazily waved at a low slider to end the top of the eighth with runners on first and second. That would do it for his night. With the rumor mill of the trade deadline, have to wonder if that would do it for his tenure in Boston. 

Impactful offense: Boston couldn't muster any extra-base hits until the ninth inning when Connor Wong picked up a ground-rule double. It was the only extra-base hit of the game for the Sox, who went just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position (1-for-10 going into the ninth). Boston stranded 10 runners in all. Way too little, way too late from an offense that looks to have been forgotten at home in Boston. 

NOTABLE

Justin Turner came up wincing and exited the game in the ninth after lunging for first base as he legged out an RBI single. Cora said Turner hurt is toe on the bag, but "he should be fine." 

Boston's Wild Card odds now sit at 28.1 percent, according to FanGraphs.

Duran is up to a .482 batting average when leading off the first inning this season (1st in the MLB, min. 25 PA). His .500 OBP in that situation is tied for first in the Bigs, while he also ranks first in slugging (.815) and OPS (1.315).

He became the first Red Sox player to score on a play he stole second base since Ellis Burks 36 years ago to the day – July 31, 1987 – according to Elias Sports.

Pivetta had 43 strikeouts with one start in July, the most by a player with zero or one start in a month since Dick Radatz had 45 in May 1964, per Elias Sports.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"We'll see where we're at," Cora said when asked if Pivetta would return to the rotation. "We saw 100 pitches. He's built up enough to go deep into the game. So, we'll see the matchups and go from there."

UP NEXT

Boston has another chance to get back on track Tuesday in Seattle at 9:40 p.m. ET. RHP Brayan Bello (7-6, 3.66 ERA) is set to face RHP Bryce Miller (7-3, 3.96 ERA). The MLB Trade Deadline is also Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.