Red Sox slip by Mariners in 15th inning
BOSTON -- It took until the 15th inning, but the Boston Red Sox finally scored the winning run to defeat the Seattle Mariners 5-4 at Fenway Park. Stephen Drew's two-out, bases-loaded single kicked up chalk on the right-field line to score Dustin Pedroia.
"Oh, yeah, I did," Drew said, when asked if he thought the ball would stay fair. "I knew I hit it more hands and didn't pull it. I saw the angle off the bat.
"It's just huge to get a win out of that game -- back and forth, their bullpen's doing well, our bullpen's doing well," Drew added. "We made some key plays that kept us in it."
Drake Britton (1-0) earned his first major league win, going two scoreless innings and giving up three hits with two strikeouts.
"Any time you win a game this late in extra innings, it can seem like two," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Certainly being on the other side of it, a loss after 15 can have a little bit more of an effect than a regular game."
Lucas Luetge (0-2) took the loss, going 2 2/3 innings, giving up one run on two hits and four walks, with a strikeout.
"We battled for that whole game," Mariners acting manager Robby Thompson said. "We had that one little hiccup (two errors) in that fifth inning. We hit some balls hard and they made some good plays on them.
"Tip your hat to Boston. They outbattled us right to the end, I guess."
Boston's John Lackey started and went seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs -- neither earned -- on seven hits and two walks, with four strikeouts.
The Red Sox took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh on Pedroia's two-run homer off Seattle lefty Oliver Perez.
But, Seattle tied it in the top of the eighth on Kyle Seager's solo home run off Boston reliever Junichi Tazawa.
The Mariners had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Brad Miller led off with a single off Lackey. Miller stole second base and scored on Seager's one-out double.
The Red Sox went ahead in the fifth, thanks to two consecutive Mariners errors.
Brock Holt led off the inning with a double off Iwakuma. Jacoby Ellsbury reached when center fielder Dustin Ackley misplayed his fly ball and Holt raced to third. Holt scored on second baseman Nick Franklin's error. Pedroia's fielder's choice scored Ellsbury.
"We battled the whole game and obviously we came up short," Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez said. "I thought our bullpen was phenomenal and their bullpen did a good job, too."
NOTES: Ibanez entered Wednesday's game batting .135 (5-for-37) in 10 games since the All-Star break. He had not recorded an RBI in that stretch. ... Franklin's first-inning double in Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox was his 23rd extra-base hit in 53 games. The only other Mariners with more extra-base hits in the first 53 games of their careers were Alvin Davis (27 in 1984) and Jose Cruz Jr. (25 in 1997). ... Mariners 1B/OF Michael Morse, who was activated after a five-week stint on the disabled list with a strained right quad earlier this week, was back in the lineup for a second consecutive day batting sixth and playing first base. He has mostly played the outfield this season, but Thompson said playing Morse at first base will give his legs a break. ... RHP Jake Peavy, whom the Red Sox acquired in a three-team trade Tuesday night, was expected to arrive in Boston on Wednesday, but his arrival was delayed until Thursday. Farrell said Peavy will start one of the games on the team's homestand, which ends Sunday. ... Holt was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday, taking the roster spot of INF Jose Iglesias, who was traded to Detroit on Tuesday night. This is Holt's second stint with the Red Sox this season.
