Red Sox Wrap: Strong Pitching Earns Boston Split Vs. Mariners
The Boston Red Sox ended up splitting their first series of the season by earning a 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Sunday.
The Red Sox now stand at 2-2 and the Mariners sport the same record.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Almost one turn through the rotation, it is hard not to be impressed with the production of Boston’s starting pitchers.
Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford all did their jobs and Garrett Whitlock sure did his against the Mariners by recording plenty of swings and misses. The Red Sox leave Seattle with their starters having allowed just four earned runs and one walk to go along with 27 strikeouts in 22 innings.
While the strikeout rate certainly is eye-popping, the pitch command the starters have shown may be just as important, if not more. The Red Sox aren’t giving up anything easy, which is half the battle.
The Red Sox bullpen followed Whitlock’s lead as well. Greg Weissert, Joely Rodríguez and Justin Slaten combined to pitch the final four innings and let up no runs on only one hit.
All around, it was a stellar day on the mound for the Red Sox.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Enmanuel Valdez provided the biggest hit of the game for the Red Sox. The left-handed-hitting second baseman smacked a three-run home run 376 feet to right field off Mariners starter Bryce Miller in the top of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 deadlock.
— Whitlock mowed down the Mariners in his first start of the season. The right-hander tossed five innings allowing one run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts, which was one shy of tying his career high.
— Tyler O’Neill continues to make a good first impression. The outfielder reached bases three times courtesy of two hits and a walk and opened the scoring with a solo home run, his second of the season.
WAGER WATCH
Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story had two hits in the win. FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Story collecting two hits at +330, meaning a $100 wager on this prop bet would have netted a total of $430.
ON DECK AT NESN
Boston’s 10-game road trip to begin the season rolls on to the next city as the Red Sox open a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics starting on Monday. First pitch from the Oakland Coliseum is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.