Jedixson Paez shelled in spot start as Red Sox fall to Mariners, 9-6

The Red Sox gave Sonny Gray some extra rest Tuesday night, and that decision came at a cost.

Forced to dig into their depleted starting pitching depth, Boston turned to 22-year-old Jedixson Paez for a spot start against the Mariners. It went about as poorly as possible.

Paez was hammered for eight runs on 10 hits over just 3 2/3 innings as the Red Sox fell into a seven-run hole and couldn’t completely climb out in a 9-6 loss at Fenway Park.

Boston (75-64) made the final score respectable with five unanswered runs late, including a four-run ninth, but Paez’s early struggles proved too much to overcome.

Making his fourth career major league appearance and first for the Red Sox, Paez walked two, struck out three and threw 55 of his 87 pitches for strikes.

Seattle consistently squared him up, producing 10 batted balls at 98 mph or harder, including four at least 102.6 mph.

The trouble started almost immediately when Dominic Canzone launched a 110.9 mph solo homer to right in the first inning before Boston answered in the bottom half on, who else, Mickey Gasper.

Gasper jumped on the first pitch he saw from Bryan Woo and deposited it into the right-field seats, tying the game at 1.

He has now homered in back-to-back games, and six of his last 13, with seven home runs overall during that stretch. He is batting .394 with a 1.686 OPS over those 13 games.

Gasper became just the sixth player in Red Sox history to record at least seven home runs with a 1.650 OPS or better over any 13-game span, joining J.D. Drew (2008), Fred Lynn (1979), Lou Clinton (1962), Ted Williams (1957) and Jimmie Foxx (1939).

The score didn’t remain tied for very long after Josh Naylor doubled to begin the second, Cole Young singled and Lazaro Montes walked to load the bases. J.P. Crawford put Seattle back in front with a sacrifice fly before Brock Rodden added an RBI single.

Randy Arozarena continued to pound the ball in this series, crushing a three-run homer over the Green Monster, turning a one-run game into a 6-1 Mariners lead.

Seattle wasn’t finished tormenting Paez. Montes added an RBI single in the third before back-to-back doubles produced another run in the fourth. Paez was finally pulled with two outs and Boston trailing 8-1.

Following the game, the Red Sox optioned Paez back to Worcester.

The outing also illustrated just how thin Boston’s starting pitching depth has become.

With Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo and Eduardo Rivera on the injured list, and the Alec Gamboa-Brayan Bello tandem unavailable, the Red Sox chose Paez over Triple-A options Blake Wehunt, John Holobetz, and Gage Ziehl.

Ziehl pitched 6 2/3 innings for Worcester on the road Tuesday night, allowing one earned run on four hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Paez’s abbreviated outing was also the last thing a taxed bullpen needed after four games in three days over the weekend and Monday’s 10-inning win.

Wyatt Olds was forced to cover 2 1/3 innings and throw 53 pitches, more than double his previous career high of 25. The rookie allowed his first major league earned run when Montes, making his MLB debut, launched a homer to center in the fifth to make it 9-1.

Gamboa then worked two innings on 27 pitches, his second two-inning appearance in as many nights. He’s thrown 68 pitches over the last four days. Greg Weissert handled the ninth.

Paez will likely return to Worcester before Wednesday’s series finale, allowing the Red Sox to bring in a fresh bullpen arm. Raymond Burgos is an obvious candidate after serving as the 27th man in Sunday’s doubleheader, while Tyler Samaniego is already on the 40-man roster.

Despite the deficit, Boston’s offense didn’t completely roll over.

Woo held the Red Sox to two runs, one earned, on five hits over six innings, striking out seven and walking one.

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