Mariners Pile On Early, Send Red Sox to 8-3 Defeat at Fenway
Seattle's bottom of the order did the damage in a four-run third, spoiling Roman Anthony's return night and deepening Boston's September wobble.
The Boston Red Sox are still holding a wild-card spot, which is exactly why nights like Wednesday sting. Seattle came into Fenway Park and closed out the series with an 8-3 win, taking the final two games of the set and leaving Boston losers of four of their last five, according to Seattle Sports.
A third inning that decided it
The game turned early. Seattle put up four runs in the third, a rally that started with a wild pitch and grew through RBI singles from Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor, plus a Boston relay throw that got away, per MLB.com's game story. Starter Patrick Sandoval was tagged with three runs on five hits in four-plus innings. Seattle added three more in the sixth — Jhonny Pereda's two-run single the big blow — and the Mariners' 7-8-9 hitters combined to go 7-for-10 with five runs, per MLB.com.
Bryce Miller kept Boston quiet from the mound, allowing one run on seven hits into the fifth, while Randy Arozarena chipped in an RBI single and a diving catch that MLB.com's story flagged as the defensive play of the night.
The one bright spot for Boston
Roman Anthony homered in his first game back from an injury absence that Seattle Sports put at 101 games — his first Fenway home run of the season. Trevor Story and Eli White drove in Boston's other runs.
What it means
Seattle outscored Boston by piling up 25 runs and 37 hits across the three-game series, keeping the Mariners' long-shot playoff hopes breathing — they sit third in the AL West at 66-75. Boston, 76-65 and third in the AL East, still holds the second wild card, but the cushion is doing the work right now: the Red Sox followed this loss by dropping a 6-5 decision in Baltimore the next night.