Mariners take series in Boston as Arozarena erupts
Randy Arozarena tormented Boston pitching all series, and an 8-3 finale sent Seattle to 66-74 as it heads home to open a set against Oakland.
A 12-hit finale sends Boston reeling
The Mariners closed out their series in Boston with an 8-3 win on September 2, taking 2 of 3 from the Red Sox to move to 66-74. J.P. Crawford went 3-for-3, and Bryce Miller allowed 1 earned run over 4.2 innings (7 H, 1 BB, 3 K), surviving a two-out ground-rule double from Trevor Story that trimmed the lead to 4-1 in the 4th before getting out of it on a check-swing strikeout of Connor Wong, according to Daniel Kramer.
Red Sox8-9Red Sox9-6Red Sox8-3The win was set up by a 3rd-inning rally that Kramer detailed play by play: a leadoff single from Weston Wilson, a single from Crawford, a wild pitch that scored a run, a walk to Dominic Canzone, and two-out singles from Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor that combined with an error for 2 more runs. Seattle finished with 12 hits despite clearing no fences, in a game Kramer wrote left "a Boston team that looks bound for October" reeling — the Red Sox have now lost 6 of their last 8 games, per Ian Browne.
Arozarena's 5-hit, 7-RBI week at Fenway
The series' defining figure was Randy Arozarena, whose damage across the set got its own writeup from Barstool Bush: "Randy Arozarena Torches Red Sox With 5 Hits, 7 RBIs At Fenway," which framed Boston's wild-card push as taking the hit. Part of that stretch was a homer over the Green Monster that put the Mariners up 6-1 in the 2nd inning of the September 1 game, per TalkinBaseball_.
The lone game Seattle didn't win in the set came first, on August 31 — Boston erased a deficit and won it in extra innings on a Trevor Story walk-off, as Barstool Bush covered in "Red Sox Walk Off Mariners As Red Sox Erase 3-Run Deficit," a 9-8 loss. The Mariners answered by taking the final two games 9-6 and 8-3, with Jahmai Jones closing the scoring in the September 1 win, per Browne.
Upcoming
Jack Perkins takes the mound for Oakland at 3-10 with a 6.42 ERA; his last start, August 29 against Baltimore, went 5 innings with 4 walks in a loss. Kade Anderson starts opposite him still searching for his first decision, after going 4.1 innings against Toronto on August 29 with 3 walks.
The Mariners host the Athletics tonight, and the market makes Seattle a heavy favorite even as the club sits 4.5 games back in the AL Wild Card with an elimination number of 18. The total points to a low-scoring game, matching two starters who have fought their control all year — Perkins with 4 walks in his last outing, Anderson with 3.