I Was One Game Off On My 0-9 Road Trip Prediction For The Red Sox

The West Coast trip from hell came to a quiet halt tonight as Boston fell 2-1 to Seattle at Safeco Field.

That wraps up a 1-8 stretch for the Red Sox (63-75, 31-37 away) while the Mariners (67-71, 36-33 home) clinched the series and basically guaranteed that they will finish with a better record in 2012 than the Red Sox. What's more, Seattle could even be .500 which is amazing when you consider the utter lack of talent they possess.

It was a battle of two guys that probably should not have jobs in MLB anymore as former Pawtucket Red Sox great Kevin Millwood (5-12) was a little better than Aaron Cook (3-9). Both went six innings but Millwood allowed one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Cook allowed two earned runs on seven hits with a season-high five strikeouts and three walks.

The only offense from these two punchless teams came via Dustin Ackley's two-run single in the fourth and Cody Ross' (3 hits) RBI double in the sixth.

Seattle has found a good new closer as Tom Wilhelmson struck out two in the ninth for his 24th save and the second of the series.

Boston returns home to Fenway Park and a city that is ready to eat them alive, that is if anyone is paying attention anymore since the Patriots get started for real this weekend. After an off-day tomorrow, the Red Sox and Blue Jays (61-75, 5th AL East) will find out who is the undisputed worst team in the division.

Felix Doubront (10-7) faces Henderson Alvarez (7-12) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4) opposes Ricky Romero (8-13) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m.) and best of all, Clay Buchholz (11-5) and J.A. Happ (10-11) get started at 1:35 p.m. on Sunday in the series finale that will be watched by five people (since the Patriots-Titans game starts at 1 p.m.).

If there is any justice, the Red Sox will finally acknowledge that their sham sellout streak has ended and the miserable souls that show up to these pointless games boo everything from start to finish. After another day off on Monday, they host the Yankees for three games as New York tries to hang on in the AL East.

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Red Sox Decide To Give That Winning Thing A Try

Get the Duck Boats ready, the Red Sox won't go 0-9 on this West Coast road trip! Boston (63-74, 31-36 away) dug itself a 3-0 hole (which to them is more akin to 30-0) before rallying for a 4-3 victory tonight at Seattle's (66-71, 35-33 home) Safeco Field. That snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Red Sox which had sucked the life out of an already dead team.

Jon Lester (9-11) went six innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The real heroes were Junichi Tazawa (2 outs to wiggle out of a jam in the seventh), Vicente Padilla (scoreless 8th, 23rd hold) and Andrew Bailey who recorded his second save with a clean ninth.

The immortal Blake Beavan (9-9) couldn't get the job done for the Mariners. He went 5.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout and no walks.

Jesus Montero (3 for 5) had an RBI single in the first then Franklin Gutierrez (3rd of the season) and Kyle Seager (16th of the season) went back-to-back in the third for the 3-0 advantage.

Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, run, walk, stolen base) extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the sixth. Even better, Cody Ross blasted his 20th homer-a 3-run shot-and two batters later Ryan Lavarnway (1st of the season) went deep in that frame. Things were going so well that Jose Iglesias (previously 0 for 17) notched his first hit of the season: a double.

James Loney was 2 for 4 with a double in the extremely rare Red Sox victory. Dustin Ackely was 2 for 5 with a run and stolen base for Seattle. Him, Seager and Montero are a nice trio, if only the Mariners would spend some money and surround them with proven veteran hitters.

In the finale of this torturous road trip, Aaron Cook (3-8) faces Kevin Millwood (4-12) tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN). Make sure to flip over when there are commercials during the Giants-Cowboys game. Watching that instant classic pitching matchup should be almost as entertaining as seeing Tony Romo and the Cowboys pee down their legs like always.

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