BOSTON — The Seattle Mariners entered the series against the Boston Red Sox as one of the worst offenses in baseball, ranking last in runs scored.
They’d scored just four runs total in their previous four games entering Monday. That made their 17 runs scored across the last two games at Fenway Park all the more surprising.
On Tuesday, Seattle claimed a 9-6 victory, slamming Red Sox rookie right-hander Jedixson Paez, making his first big-league start, for eight runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
“He struggled,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “I felt like maybe wasn’t able to land a ton of fastballs in the zone. As you watched the at-bats unfold, I just think that there was a lot of damage on soft pitches.”
Paez took the mound because the Red Sox decided to push back starter Sonny Gray to Saturday for extra rest. Before the game, Tracy said they chose Paez for the start because he was a “supreme strike thrower,” but Tuesday, the Mariners capitalized quickly.
The Red Sox prospect had been selected in the Rule 5 draft this winter by the Chicago White Sox and made three appearances out of the White Sox bullpen in April but couldn’t stick on their big-league roster and was returned to the Red Sox. He pitched much of the year at Double A before a promotion to Triple A in August.
With 24 games left in the regular season, the Red Sox were trying to find a pocket for Gray to rest. Tracy said he didn’t second-guess the move despite its not working out.
“I wouldn’t call it prioritizing rest (for Gray), I think it was necessary,” Tracy said. “Wasn’t just like, hey, ‘Let’s do this,’ like it was necessary. It was a conversation that happened a while ago, and then as he had the last couple outings, we continued to talk. It felt like it was necessary for him to get some rest, for him physically to stay on line.”
The Red Sox offense, once again, made the game look closer than it was for much of the night, battling back with four runs late after trailing 9-1 through the fifth inning.
For a while, Mickey Gasper’s first-inning solo homer was the only offense from the Red Sox. It marked Gasper’s seventh homer in his last 13 games.
“It’s been impressive,” Tracy said. “There’s not a whole lot to say about it. But he’s taking great swings.”
Pinch hitter Eli White hit a two-run double in the seventh, and Jahmai Jones, also pinch hitting, pulled the Red Sox within 9-6 in the ninth on a two-run homer as Boston made an effort for another late-game comeback. This time it fell short, but the Red Sox took solace in the fact they forced Mariners closer Andres Muñoz into the game.
“You’re trying to get traffic on and trying to do everything you can to try to get Muñoz into the game because that helps us out in the series,” Jones said. “I know we lost there, but you’re looking at getting their closer in back-to-back days, so it becomes a question mark for tomorrow (if he’s available).”
Roman Anthony remained hot at the plate since his return Sunday, with two more hits, and is 6-for-13 since being activated.
Earlier in the day, the Red Sox got some tough news on reliever Tyron Guerrero, whom they placed on the injury list with shoulder inflammation. The 35-year-old, pitching in his first season in the majors since 2019, proved to be a workhorse over the summer during Boston’s dominant stretch, but that overuse led to shoulder inflammation.
Tracy was hopeful Guerrero would miss just the minimum of 15 days and said Guerrero was dealing with fatigue more than anything.
“It’s been off and on for a bit now,” Tracy said. “Sometimes rest is the only thing. You go and get two or three days off, you just keep ending up at the same point, and you get to a certain spot with guys, you feel like the only way you’re going to get over the hump is if you can give a little bit of a breather.”
Guerrero had given up two earned runs in 19 2/3 innings in June and July but eight earned runs in 13 2/3 innings in August.
Meanwhile, the club is also managing catcher Adley Rutschman’s playing time as he deals with a hyperextended elbow, an injury incurred on a swing in Miami last week.
Rutschman was out of the lineup for the second straight day Tuesday, and Tracy said he’s day to day but was hopeful he’d be back Wednesday. The catcher was on the injury list with wrist inflammation when the Red Sox acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 3. He debuted with the club Aug. 11 but has yet to find his rhythm at the plate; the hyperextended elbow hasn’t helped.
“It’s something we just got to continue to monitor,” Tracy said. “And hopefully get some rest and can get past it.”
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who’d been out since June with a forearm stress reaction, was activated Tuesday when rosters expanded. Tracy said he’ll mostly play as a late-game defensive replacement.
