It took three hours and 14 minutes but the Red Sox emerged victorious over the visiting Seattle Mariners 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Brayan Bello didn’t exactly dominate in his season debut, but backed by an effective Red Sox defense, he made it through five innings with only one run on the board.
The Red Sox right-hander went five innings and allowed one earned run – Jorge Polanco’s solo homer – on four hits. He issued three walks, hit two batters, and struck out three. During his innings, the Mariners went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Their starter, Bryce Miller, allowed four earned runs on five hits, four walks, and struck out four in 4.2 innings.
The game dragged through the early innings as the Red Sox and Mariners offenses played tug-of-war. Polanco homered for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, and Jarren Duran tripled and scored the tying run on a Rafael Devers’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. Seattle went 1-2-3 atop the fourth, Boston followed suit in their half of the frame. After the Red Sox put up two runs in the bottom of the fifth, the Mariners plated a pair in the top of the sixth.
Hours after the Red Sox optioned Zack Kelly to Triple-A to open a roster spot for Bello, Justin Wilson turned in a similar outing to the one that put Kelly on the chopping block. Taking the mound in the sixth, he issued back-to-back one-out walks, and after getting the second out, gave up a two-run single to No. 9 hitter JP Crawford to cut Boston’s lead to one.
At times, it was a frustrating night on the bases for Boston. The Red Sox collected 11 hits and seven walks, but struck out nine times and went 4 for 17 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 men on base.
The ‘Slammin’ Famine’ persists as well. The Red Sox, who are without a grand slam since Aug. 19, 2023, loaded the bases against old friend Eduard Bazardo (‘21-22 Red Sox) in the sixth, but Bregman flew out to left to end the inning. It was their 24th grand-slam opportunity of the season; in the American League, only the Mariners and Astros have had more.
The Red Sox made up for their slam-less sixth by scoring four in the seventh. Triston Casas blasted a Trent Thornton curveball 105.6 mph to deep center for a three-run homer, and Duran’s single turned into a chaotic run-scoring opportunity when Mariners second baseman Leo Rivas made a throwing error, allowing Carlos Narvaez to score and Duran to advance to second.
Garrett Whitlock and Liam Hendriks pitched the final three frames. The latter, in his second appearance since June 9, 2023, closed out the contest with a triumphant 1-2-3 ninth.
Devers’ new nickname should be ‘The Walkman.’ The Red Sox designated hitter entered the contest leading the American League in walks, then added two to his season total. It’s the 60th time in franchise history that a Red Sox player has begun the season with at least 20 walks in his first 25 games; with the exception of ‘21 trade deadline addition Kyle Schwarber, Devers is the first Sox player to do so since Kevin Youkilis in 2011.