Red Sox win on Ben Affleck's birthday for first time since the release of 'Good Will Hunting'

Since the theatrical release of "Good Will Hunting," on Jan. 9, 1998, the Red Sox had played 15 games on Aug. 15, which happens to be Ben Affleck's birthday.

They lost all 15 of 'em.

It was beginning to look like the team was cursed (and Sox fans are not the kind of fans to take that sort of thing lightly). Things appeared so bleak that Affleck thought about trying to jinx his jinx-dom.

If the @RedSox lose today, I'm going to have to start cheering for the @Yankees on Aug 15th. #BirthdayJinx

- Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 15, 2014

And Aug. 15, 2015, was shaping up to be more "rule" than "exception" as far as the "Curse of the Ben-bino" is concerned. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez was slated to take the hill at Fenway Park as the Red Sox trotted out a struggling Wade Miley as his opposite number.

But that's why they play the game, right? The Sox tuned King Felix up with 10 earned runs over the first three innings. Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz combined for 13 hits at the top of the lineup while rookie catcher Blake Swihart raised his average with a four-hit afternoon and Jackie Bradley Jr. went 5-for-6 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

The Sox went on to break the "Curse of the Ben-bino" with a 22-10 win over the Mariners.