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