SEATTLE -- Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy gave the baseball gods their due multiple times in Seattle, when Boston won two games in which it manufactured key rallies late to pull away.
“The game gives back to you,” was his preferred way of putting it.
On Sunday, in a 3-1 loss to the Mariners, the little things didn’t go the Sox’s way, as Boston missed opportunities to go ahead, then to pull even in four straight frames, ultimately missing a chance for its third sweep of the season.
The Red Sox put the leadoff runner on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but all three frames ended up going 1-2-3 thanks to two double plays -- one when Nate Eaton was doubled off second base after getting a bad read on a line drive -- and a pickoff. Then in the seventh, a Caleb Durbin double put two in scoring position, but Andruw Monasterio struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the threat.
The missed opportunities landed Payton Tolle with the loss despite the left-hander posting his first quality start in three outings. Tolle only struck out two and walked a pair -- both in the fourth -- but induced two double plays of his own to work around trouble and limit damage.