MLB Update: Jon Lester show thwarts the Mariners out of contention
Boston Red Sox visited the Seattle Mariners, who have been faring badly in the league, last night. Their fixture was played at Safeco Field in the presence of 19,063 fans. It was expected to be an easy contest for the travelling ball club and it turned out to be nothing short of that as the side got to the top of the game with a Jon Lester exhibition of brilliance.
The hosts had a hard task at hand; winning no recent series was a sore reality to deal with. On top of that, there was this matter of returning pitcher, Doug Fister. The ball thrower has been performing terribly this season and he currently ranks 6th in terms of highest losses in the American League. There was no doubt that the player would have a hard time yet again. He conceded 6 hits, 5 runs and 1 walk in his 7.1 innings of play.
The Red Sox were bringing in Jon Lester and for those who don’t know the man, they need to read up on his statistics. He ranks second in terms of wins in the league while he clinched his 17th win last night when he drove the Mariners with no more than 3 hits in his 8 innings of play. He was the star of the night and allowed just one run.
The fixture started normally with both teams getting used to the bat in hands. However, the Red Sox’s habit of striking early and overwhelmingly didn’t change. They seemed upbeat and ready for the challenge. The top 2nd proved to be the inning of revelation for the visiting squad as Doug Fister got an early lesson on his wary pitching. The action started with Adrian Beltre, while he was followed by Jed Lowrie, who succeeded with a double to the deep right.
With Beltre on third base, Josh Reddick grounded out to short stop to get the hitter through for the team’s first run. Lowrie was on third now. Daniel Nava came in to smash a double to the right to get the 2nd run on the board. The third number came up when Nava sprinted off Lars Anderson’s double to the deep centre. The Mariners were 3 – 0 down and they needed an early uplift to counter the visitor’s onslaught.
But, that wasn’t going to happen as Lester made his mark with no serious trouble. The Mariners were unable to do anything against the Red Sox and their reply didn’t come before the bottom 7th. Much to crowd’s disappointment, the Seattle side managed just a single run in the entire game. The move started with Franklin Gutierrez, who walked to the first base. He then swiftly paced himself to the third base when Jose Lopez singled to the left centre.
The Boston side scored yet again in the top of the 8th and runs came in instantly. The innings began with Fister making the situation worse. He allowed Marco Scutaro to walk and that spelled trouble. Ryan Kalish came in next and made Seattle pay heavily. He smashed a 383 feet home run to the right and got 2 more runs on the board. The score extended to 5 – 1 and the hosts were left reeling for a comeback. The home team, however, wasn’t lucky enough as it ultimately fell out to a 5 – 1 defeat, bringing an end to their game saving hopes.
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