BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 6, Mariners 4 - Boston snaps skid as Verdugo, McGuire homer; bullpen locks it down

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

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Sox return to win column: The Red Sox returned to the win column, ending a three-game skid with a 6-4 win over the Mariners in Seattle on Tuesday. Boston fell behind early, but Brayan Bello found his way out of a first-inning jam. Christian Arroyo got the Sox on the board with a two-RBI ground-rule double for a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning before Alex Verdugo's two-run homer in the fifth and Reese McGuire's first dinger of the season in the sixth added pivotal insurance as Seattle tried to claw back. Chris Martin, Josh Winckowski and Kenley Jansen locked it down in relief. 

Offense, bullpen picks up Bello: Bello struggled with command early and was fortunate to come out of the first relatively unscathed. The youngster recovered but faltered again late in his outing, surrendering a home run for the fifth straight start and an RBI double to allow Seattle to cut into the lead. Fortunately, Verdugo and McGuire's bombs added breathing room. The Sox scored more than three runs after three or fewer in their last four, which certainly helps after Nick Pivetta got no run support in Monday's gem. Seattle only had one hit and two baserunners between Martin, Winckowski and Jansen, who combined for four strikeouts.

TURNING POINTS

Middle innings: Arroyo's go-ahead double in the fourth appeared to be the spark Boston needed as the bats began to wake up from their slumber from the last several days. Between McGuire's sacrifice fly in the fourth before his home run – his first of the season – and Verdugo's first shot into the seats since July 8, the Sox accrued enough of a lead to survive a push from the Mariners in the fifth and sixth innings. 

FIVE UP

Reese McGuire: What a return to the lineup it was for McGuire (2 RBI, HR), making his first start since June 22 after sustaining an oblique strain, and what a time for his first home run of the season to extend Boston's lead. Helped add to the momentum of the fourth inning with his sacrifice fly to knock in another after Arroyo got things started.

"It felt great," McGuire told NESN in the postgame walk-off. "I felt something special in that at-bat coming. Put a good swing on that pitch right there and just happy to see it pay off. ... We had just given up runs in that last inning, so to come back and answer was huge."

Alex Verdugo: 1-for-4 with the homer, a walk and a strikeout. After the way things looked over the last few weeks, Verdugo's two-run blast could be just what he needs to turn things back in the right direction. Perhaps the swing of a man free from the shackles of trade speculation, who said he was "a little bit worried" about getting traded. Verdugo said he wants to stay in Boston, too, and feels good to know he's staying. 

"I think when you hit a buck in a month, you've got to switch up, right?" Verdugo told reporters of his July slump. "So for me, it was just kind of grinding, pressing. I felt from the moment I got in the box, I was trying to get the outcome already over, instead of where I normally get on time, see some pitches and let the game come to me. I felt like I was trying to force it. For me, it's just slow it back down again, get back on my pace and don't let the game speed me up."

Bullpen: Chris Martin remains automatic as his ERA drops to 1.57. Stress-free seventh inning and touched the upper 90s. Winckowski recovered from an opening walk, hit and some lackadaisical defense around him to get out of the eighth unscathed with back-to-back strikeouts. Jansen made it through the ninth smoothly, capping it off with a K. Of the seven swings at his cutter, three were whiffs, per Baseball Savant.

Masataka Yoshida: Got off the schneid with a 2-for-4 day at the plate, picking up his first hits in five games. 

Jarren Duran: Made a great sliding catch on the run in left field to get Bello out of the sixth before Seattle's lineup flipped over with a runner on third. Flashed his blazing speed again, too, turning a routine base hit into a double. 

TWO DOWN

Brayan Bello: Bello hasn't been as strong since getting shelled in Oakland on July 19. Has given up homers in five straight games. Didn't have it early in the first inning, giving up a pair of walks and singles to load the bases and allow a run. Settled in, battled back and gave Boston six innings, to his credit, but ran out of gas at the end. The Mariners were sitting changeup all night. May have been too reliant on it. 

"He grinded today," Alex Cora told reporters. "His stuff wasn't as good as the last one against Atlanta, but he gave us six. That's a tough lineup. France put some good swings on him, but overall, he gave us a chance to win, and the bullpen did a great job."

Eighth-inning defense: Nearly cost the Red Sox runs or even the lead after the walk and single Winckowski gave up. Boston just threw the ball around, akin to Little League. Started with Triston Casas airmailing the ball to third with Raleigh already at the bag, allowing France to advance to second, too. 

NOTABLE 

The Red Sox sit just 1.5 games behind Toronto for the last Wild Card spot. If Boston wins the series finale in Seattle, and Toronto loses its next two, the two sides will be tied when they begin a three-game series on Friday. 

In the last eight games, Red Sox pitchers are 5-3 with a 2.79 ERA, a 9.25 K/9.0 IP, .245 opponent average and 3/9 saves/holds. 

Since coming to Boston in a trade last season, McGuire is hitting .301 in 77 games. He has 14 doubles, four home runs, 25 RBI and 25 runs. 

Chris Sale made his first rehab appearance with the WooSox. He pitched 2.0+ innings, surrendering a hit and two walks with three strikeouts on 40 pitches (26 strikes). His next scheduled appearance is Sunday. 

Trevor Story went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, a walk and a stolen base for Worcester as he continues his rehab assignment, making the start at shortstop. He is not ruled out from making his MLB return this weekend. 

QUOTE OF NOTE

"It's just a matter of time," Cora said of the offense. "We're gonna hit. We will hit. It just happens that over 162 games, you're going to struggle sometimes, and we actually didn't struggle. We struggled with men in scoring position."

UP NEXT

Boston has a chance to win the series in Wednesday’s finale in Seattle, set for 4:10 p.m. ET. RHP Kutter Crawford (5-5, 3.86 ERA) is set to face RHP Logan Gilbert (9-5, 3.83 ERA).