Red Sox stumble again as Sandoval, Bello implode in series loss to Mariners

For most of the summer, the Red Sox have managed to patch together their pitching staff despite a seemingly endless list of injuries.

Now, with the postseason push entering its most critical stretch, some cracks are beginning to show at the worst possible time.

Patrick Sandoval and Brayan Bello were each tagged for four runs in separate innings Wednesday as the Mariners handed the Red Sox an 8-3 loss at Fenway Park, Boston’s third largely noncompetitive defeat in four days.

The Red Sox (75-65) have suddenly lost six of eight and dropped their first home series since losing two of three to the Athletics from Aug. 7-9.

And after watching their pitching staff surrender at least eight runs for the fifth consecutive game, the larger concern is becoming difficult to ignore.

Boston’s rotation is beginning to look vulnerable at precisely the wrong time.

Ranger Suarez struggled Sunday against the Yankees. Sonny Gray needed additional rest, forcing Boston to call on 22-year-old Jedixson Paez for a spot start Tuesday that resulted in eight runs over 3 2/3 innings. Then came Wednesday, when neither Sandoval nor Bello could stop Seattle.

It’s beginning to look uncomfortably similar to last season, when injuries and workload concerns whittled Boston’s rotation down to Garrett Crochet, Bello and Connelly Early by the start of the postseason.

Wednesday’s problems began in the third when Sandoval allowed consecutive singles to begin the inning before retiring the next two hitters. He then narrowly missed with a pitch to Dominic Canzone, with Boston unsuccessfully challenging the ball call.

From there, everything unraveled, starting with a wild pitch that brought home Seattle’s first run; Julio Rodríguez followed with an RBI single, and Josh Naylor blooped another single into the outfield. One run scored on the hit, and another followed when Jarren Duran’s throw to third sailed away from Caleb Durbin, allowing Rodríguez to race home.

Sandoval lasted just four-plus innings, his second-shortest start since joining Boston in early July. He allowed four runs on four hits and three walks, throwing only 40 of his 80 pitches for strikes.

It was a sharp reversal from five days earlier, when Sandoval turned in one of his best starts of the season in the Bronx. He retired the first six batters Wednesday before everything unraveled in a four-run third.

Still, outings like this have been rare for the left-hander. Sandoval has allowed more than two earned runs in just three of his 10 starts this season, including only twice in his last eight dating to July 24. Wednesday also marked just the fourth time he failed to complete five innings.

The Red Sox hoped Bello could stabilize things, instead, Seattle put up another four-run frame. 

Bello hit Cole Young and walked Weston Wilson in the sixth before Seattle strung together three consecutive singles and a double. By the time the damage was done, an already difficult 4-1 deficit had ballooned to 8-1.

Unlike Sandoval’s inning, Boston’s defense wasn’t responsible for the damage. Bello allowed four earned runs on seven hits and two walks without recording a strikeout over three innings.

The righty had posted a 0.48 ERA, allowing just one earned run over 18 2/3 innings, in his first five appearances after returning from Triple-A in mid-July. He has now allowed at least one earned run in five consecutive outings. His last two have been especially alarming: eight earned runs on 12 hits and three walks over 7 1/3 innings, good for a 9.82 ERA.

While the pitching staff sputtered, Roman Anthony continued to look like someone who never spent more than three months on the injured list.

Anthony collected three more hits, including his first Fenway Park homer of the season, an opposite-field shot off Michael Rucker that cleared the Green Monster in the seventh.

The 370-foot blast was also Anthony’s first homer as a member of the starting lineup this season. His only previous home run came as a pinch-hitter in Houston during Boston’s first road trip.

Anthony has recorded multiple hits in each of his four games since returning Sunday and is now 9-for-18 (.500) with a homer, two doubles and a triple.

Wilyer Abreu also had a big afternoon, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored, while Mickey Gasper added two more hits to continue his torrid stretch. 

Abreu recorded multiple hits for the second straight game and fourth time in his last eight games. Since Aug. 28, he is batting .393 (11-for-28) with seven extra-base hits, six doubles and a homer, and a 1.147 OPS.

His two doubles Wednesday also gave him an MLB-leading 14 games with multiple extra-base hits this season.

Bryce Miller held the Red Sox scoreless in four of his five innings Wednesday, allowing just one run on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

It marked the sixth time this season Miller has allowed one run or fewer, and his first since tossing seven scoreless innings against the Angels on July 2. Boston finished with 12 hits but went just 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight.

The Red Sox didn’t score until the fourth, when Trevor Story’s soft ground-rule double brought Abreu home to cut Seattle’s lead to 4-1.

Anthony’s homer made it 8-2 in the seventh before consecutive doubles from Gasper and Eli White produced another run.

Boston also ran itself out of an early opportunity when Gasper tried to score from second on Abreu’s first hit of the afternoon. Randy Arozarena threw him out comfortably at the plate. Even that early, with the Red Sox already trailing, it felt like a missed opportunity to shift the momentum.

Adding to the afternoon’s concerns, Ceddanne Rafaela left the game with quad tightness. Chad Tracy said Rafaela attempted to remain in the game, but with Boston facing a large deficit, the Red Sox didn’t believe it was worth taking the risk.

“Today his quad was a little tight, he was actually trying to go back out there, he had a little quad tightness, and we grabbed him in an 8-1 game and said we don’t need you to do that," said Tracy. "So we’ll check in with him tonight and tomorrow and see where he’s at but didn’t want him running back out there with a tight quad in an 8-1 game.”

Tracy said he wasn’t sure when exactly Rafaela’s quad tightened up on him but that it was brought to his attention following the sixth inning.

“I don’t know exactly which play it was, I know they were checking on him and the inning ended and they alerted me and Rafa’s a gamer and he wants to go,” Tracy said. “But I felt like let’s not let him do that and make sure and see where we’re at to make sure we don’t make it worse.”

The consecutive losses also halted what had been an impressive run at Fenway.

Boston had won 18 of 23 home games before dropping the final two games of this series. The Red Sox are now just 35-34 at Fenway this season, though 12 of their final 18 games will be played at home after this weekend.

The Mariners won back-to-back games to take the series, improving to 18-25-2 in series play this season. Seattle has now won four of its last six series since Aug. 16. Seattle  scored at least eight runs for the third consecutive game, their first such stretch since July 11-13, 2025, at Detroit. They also recorded at least 10 hits for the third straight game, the third time they’ve done so this season.

And after years of struggles at Fenway, Seattle has now won each of its last two series in Boston after going 0-8-1 in its previous nine series at Fenway from 2015-24.

The Red Sox will travel Wednesday night to Baltimore to begin a four-game series against an Orioles team that entered the day at 69-70 and just two games out of a playoff spot.

Boston is hopeful Adley Rutschman can return to the lineup against his former team after missing time with lingering discomfort from his hyperextended elbow.

A recent MRI showed swelling and some bone bruising but no ligament damage.

“Hopeful for [Thursday],” said Tracy. “But each day, we're getting a little bit better. So like we're trying to do our best due diligence. Can we get him to a better place and then go? So just not quite there yet.”

“Trending in the right direction,” Rutschman added.

The Red Sox desperately need that group to settle things down. Because after another ugly afternoon Wednesday, their pitching staff suddenly looks a lot less stable than it did a week ago.

Rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (9-6, 3.27 ERA) will start Thursday’s opener, followed by Suarez on Friday, Gray on Saturday and Payton Tolle on Sunday.

Contreras Aiming for Royals Series Return

Willson Contreras addressed reporters for the first time since landing on the injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain and doesn't expect to be sidelined for long. 

“I’m already feeling a lot better...,” Contreras said after running on the field with Red Sox trainers Wednesday. “Hopefully the 10 days are enough for me to come back.”

Contreras has been dealing with hamstring soreness since initially injuring himself during a home series against the White Sox in early August. He attempted to play through the issue for nearly a month, at times avoiding running at full speed in an effort to keep himself in the lineup. 

The All-Star aggravated the hamstring while legging out an RBI triple during Saturday night's loss to the Yankees. He returned to the lineup Sunday but exited Boston's blowout loss before the seventh inning. After consulting with team officials, the decision was made to place him on the injured list before Monday's series opener against the Mariners. 

“It was one step forward, two steps back,” Contreras said. “On the triple, I’m just a gamer and I saw I had a chance to get to third base. I didn’t hesitate to get a triple. The best play was to stay at second base.

“I felt it there and the next day I woke up really sore. I was like, ‘That was the end for me.’ I can’t keep playing this way.

“Being placed on the IL, I think, was the best move for me because it didn’t make sense for me to keep playing the way I was playing, hurt. Just being on the field for 50% of games didn’t make sense for me so I talked to the front office and we came to agreement to be placed on the IL.”

Contreras is eligible to return when the Red Sox open a home series against the Royals on Sept. 11. He said he isn't concerned about the hamstring becoming an issue deep into September or potentially lingering into the postseason. 

“There’s a lot of time to heal up and to be better for the playoffs,” he said. “If it were a situation where today was October, I could play.”