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 "That's a good way to start. I would say the horse race is on,"
McClendon said after the Mariners scored five runs against Boston
closer Koji Uehara with two outs in the ninth inning and nipped the
last-place Red Sox 5-3.
"That's a big win. Obviously, that's a two-game swing for us. We'll
see what happens tomorrow."
Down 3-0, the Mariners, seeking the franchise's first playoff spot
since 2001, rallied against Uehara and sent the Red Sox to their
sixth straight loss -- and also to their first loss in 45 games this
season when leading after eight innings.
The win moved Seattle a half-game ahead of the losing Detroit Tigers
for that second spot.
After right fielder Endy Chavez, who had a single and three walks,
worked out an 11-pitch walk to keep the game alive, pinch hitter
Chris Denorfia singled to load the bases off Uehara (5-4). Center
fielder Austin Jackson doubled home two runs and left fielder Dustin
Ackley dropped a two-run single into short left.
"Unfortunately, Ackley finds kind of the Bermuda Triangle out there
to drive in the two," said Boston manager John Farrell, who thought
Uehara's splitter failed him.
Second baseman Robinson Cano then singled on a 3-2 pitch and Ackley,
taking advantage of a lazy throw by right fielder Daniel Nava,
scored all the way from first.
Just like that, closer Fernando Rodney was on for his 37th save and
ace Felix Hernandez was off the hook.
"I thought Chavez's at-bat was just a tremendous at-bat (11 pitches,
first time in his career with three walks in a game)," Farrell said.
"He really battled, fouled off some great pitches, eventually
walked. Then Denorfia, he did the same thing -- he actually put a
pretty darn good pitch in play for a base hit."
They didn't rip the ball all over Fenway, with McClendon saying, "We
were lucky there. I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good
sometimes. Tonight we were lucky."
A distraught Uehara told the Japanese media, "I'm really, really
sorry, but I can't talk about this today."
Boston left fielder Yoenis Cespedes hit a three-run homer off King
Felix in the sixth inning and the shot looked like it would stand
up.
Cespedes, who left Wednesday night's game because of a medical
emergency reportedly involving his mother, barely stayed a live with
a two-strike foul tip before hitting a 2-2 pitch completely out of
Fenway Park for his 21st homer of the season -- his fourth with
Boston.
"I give credit to that guy," said Hernandez, who left his fifth
straight changeup to Cespedes up in the zone.
Hernandez failed to win for the seventh straight time on the road
(he's just 0-2). In the ninth inning, he said he was in the
clubhouse and didn't move from his spot because he didn't want to
change anything.
"It's huge for us, man," Hernandez said. "We needed this one. That
was huge."
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Right-hander Joe Kelly pitched the first five innings for the Red Sox,
allowing one hit and leaving with a shoulder problem that doesn't seem
serious. He is 0-1 with three no-decisions with the Red Sox.
Red Sox rookie shortstop Xander Bogaerts was hit on the helmet by an 89
mph pitch by Hernandez in the fifth inning and left an inning later.
Farrell said his player had trouble focusing. Bogaerts was evaluated for
a concussion and said he felt OK after the game.
Hernandez apologized to Bogaerts on the field.
"I don't want to hit a guy like that. I don't want to hit him in the
head," Hernandez said. "I told him I'm sorry and he said, 'No, I'm
fine.' It scared me -- for sure, man. You don't want to hit guys like
that in the head."
Boston designated hitter David Ortiz had two hits and two walks in four
plate appearances, reaching base four times for a fourth straight game
-- the first major leaguer since 2006 to do it at least four games in a
row. He is 16-for-28 on the current homestand and has reached base in
nine straight plate appearances.
The Red Sox fell to a season-worst 16 games below .500.
NOTES: Boston reportedly reached an agreement with OF Rusney Castillo, a
27-year-old Cuban defector who would receive a seven-year, $72.5 million
contract that actually begins this season. No announcement was made
Friday, with manager John Farrell saying, "I'm aware of the reports.
There's still some administrative things that he would have to go
through until anything is announced officially, so until that time I'm
kind of like everybody else -- I've read the reports." Castillo would
likely become a center fielder in Boston and could be in the lineup
soon. ... LF Yoenis Cespedes, who left Thursday night's game after three
innings for a family medical emergency, was back in the lineup.
ESPNBoston reported the player's mother was taken by ambulance from
Fenway Park to a hospital with a blood pressure problem but that she was
OK. ... Seattle RHP Chris Young looks for his career-high 13th win when
he faces RHP Brandon Workman in Game 2 of the series on Saturday.
Workman has lost in seven straight appearances, six of them starts.
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