Mariners Take Two Out Of Three From The Red Sox (Jumps Off Tobin Bridge)

If you're enough of a degenerate to wager on regular season MLB games, I've got a hot tip for you: bet the house against the Red Sox every time Tim Wakefield makes a start.

That might sound like crazy talk but it's hard to explain how the best team in the American League continues to find ways not to give the old guy his 200th career win. It also marked the first series since June 28-30 (at Philadelphia) that the Red Sox had lost.

This afternoon marked the fourth straight start that Wakefield (6-5) has pitched ok but has received a loss or no-decision. He pitched a complete game (eight innings) which saved Boston's taxed bullpen. Wake allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Likewise, I'd love to hear a non-homer explanation for why Boston (73-46) can consistently do well against MLB's best pitchers like CC Sabathia, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez, etc. but time and again they get shut down by mediocre bums.

However, if the Red Sox are going to get completely embarrassed by a nobody, I'm happy it's one from South Portland, ME and with as cool a name as Charlie Furbush.

An LSU product (he has to be the only person in the history of Maine to attend LSU), Furbush (3-4) went seven strong innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Kevin Youkilis made it exciting for about as long as it took him to round the bases when his two-run homer (his 17th of the season) in the eighth cut Seattle's lead to 5-3. However, Mariners closer Brandon League got his second straight 1-2-3 inning and save (his 28th of the season) in the span of about 17 hours and change.

The best part about this forgettable game was that it clocked in at two hours and 14 minutes, sure to be one of the fastest of Boston's season. In other words, as long as a Dice-K first inning or two innings of Yankees-Red Sox.

Seattle got three runs in the third as Jack Wilson (infield single), Franklin Gutierrez and Mike Carp (RBI single) all produced runs.

Jed Lowrie's sacrifice fly in the fourth got Boston on the board at 3-1 but the M's got one in the fifth (on Dustin Ackley's RBI single) and Casper Wells took Wakefield deep with a solo shot in the sixth.

Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and a run in the loss while Ichiro had two hits and a run in the win.

The Red Sox have tomorrow off as they return to the East Coast. They host a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays starting with a day-night doubleheader (Lester vs. Shields and Bedard vs. Niemann) on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Then it's back on the road with four in Kansas City and four in Texas, two miserable places to play in well always but especially during the August heat.

Let's all spend the time between now and then wisely, by washing off the stink of from awful series in Seattle.

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King Felix & Mariners Beat Beckett & Red Sox On A Weird Night In Emerald City

Anytime the Seattle Mariners score five runs in an inning, let alone against one of the American League's best pitchers (Josh Beckett), it is cause for national headlines.

Ironically enough, that one random inning allowed the M's (51-67) and Felix Hernandez (11-10) to hold off the Red Sox (73-45) and Beckett (9-5) tonight 5-4 at Safeco Field.

Weird doesn't begin to describe a game that featured a homer by Ichiro Suzuki on the first pitch Beckett threw, a two-run home run by something called Casper Wells, Terry Francona's ejection after a call at home plate and a balk that happened but I guess didn't officially occur.

After Ichiro's homer, rookie Mike Carp added a two-run single and Wells put the exclamation point on the five-spot with a two-run homer.

Beckett (5 innings, 5 earned runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) was able to settle down after that (3 hits in the last 4 innings) but the damage had been done. It's too bad that Boston lost for the simple fact that Matt Albers (1.2 innings, 3 strikeouts), Franklin Morales (0.2 innings, 1 strikeout) and Alfredo Aceves (0.2 innings, 2 strikeouts) combined to give up one hit in some of their best collective work of the season.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Mariners were blanked after the first inning as they had Wily Mo Pena of all people hitting fifth as the designated hitter. The former Red Sox great was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

When Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia each hit a pair of two-run bombs in the sixth inning, it looked like the Red Sox were brewing up yet another comeback but Felix Hernandez, Jamey Wright and Brandon League didn't let it get any closer.

Ellsbury's homer was his 20th of the season, making him the sixth player in Boston history to have 20 homers and 20 steals in the same season. Get used to seeing that often from him. Likewise, Pedroia's 16th homer (to go with 23 stolen bases) means that he could join his teammate in that select company within the next month or so.

Felix didn't have his best stuff either but the big lead that Seattle staked him to proved to be just enough. He went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Wright threw a scoreless eighth for his 14th hold while League struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 28th save of the season.

The two wacky plays happened in the fourth and eighth when the Red Sox were batting. In the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury tried to score on a shallow fly ball to right field by Pedroia. Ichiro delivered a perfect throw to the plate and catcher Josh Bard held on despite getting kneed in the head by Ellsbury. At first, the home plate umpire called him safe but then after a long wait he reversed the call. Incensed, Terry Francona came out and got his money's worth before he was ejected. It was the right call as Bard held onto the ball on his stomach but who knows how or why the umpire suddenly changed his mind?

In the eighth, Wright appeared to balk with pinch runner Darnell McDonald at first. After that didn't transpire, McDonald tried to steal second but would you believe he was thrown out on a close play. The replay made it seem like again the second-base umpire got it right but I'd like to know how the balk was reversed.

Tim Wakefield tries to win No. 300 for the fourth time tomorrow afternoon as Boston closes out its six game road trip (3-2 so far) against Portland, ME native Charlie Furbush of the Mariners.

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Mariners beat Red Sox for the second night in a row

After a 6-3 road trip, the Boston Red Sox seemed to have finally turned the page on their horrific start to the 2011 season.

On second thought, maybe not. Now, Boston (11-15) has lost four of its last five games as its offense has gone completely silent yet again.

Last night at Fenway Park, the Mariners (13-15) shut out the Red Sox 2-0.

Seattle starter Doug Fister (2-3) got the win after 5.2 innings of work. He allowed five hits, five walks and four strikeouts.

He was facing an AL West team so John Lackey (2-3) pitched well. He went six innings, allowing seven hits, two earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts.

For the game, Boston went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Still crazy Milton Bradley had an RBI double in the third which scored Ichiro Suzuki (2 hits, 2 walks, 2 steals, run). In the same inning, Bradley was thrown out for arguing a call at first base. Don't ever change Milton.

Jack Wilson drove in Jack Cust with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and that was it.

Closer Brandon League gave up a hit in the ninth but got three outs for his seventh save of the season.

The only positives for the Red Sox was the work by the last two guys in its bullpen: Hideki Okajima and Dan Wheeler. Okajima got five outs with no outs and a strikeout. Wheeler got four outs, allowed one hit and struck out one.

Clay Buchholz was scratched from today's start and Tim Wakefield will oppose Felix Hernandez. Just my luck that I will be in attendance and I get Wakefield. I can't complain though since I get to see King Felix. Boston will try to avoid the sweep.