Red Sox put on hit parade in rout over Mariners
BOSTON -- After learning of the stunning news that manager John Farrell has lymphoma, which will sideline him for the rest of the season, the Red Sox erupted for an impressive 15-1 victory over the Mariners on Friday at Fenway Park.
The offense struck early and often for interim manager Torey Lovullo, scoring three in the first and six in the third.
"We as a group have been walking around with a heavy heart today," said Lovullo. "Our leader, our friend, our manager shared some pretty devastating news with us today. We hit just about every emotion you possibly can. That was capped off by a lot of excitement in the dugout. These guys did that for John. They went out there and fought hard, played hard and played with a ton of energy for John today." More >
Eight of Boston's nine starters had multihit games, led by rookie Travis Shaw, who belted two home runs. Pablo Sandoval went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Rusney Castillo smashed a two-run homer before leaving with a left foot contusion. Jackie Bradley Jr. continued his recent surge with a 3-for-5 performance that included an RBI double. Alejandro De Aza had a two-hit game off the bench after replacing Castillo.
Video: SEA@BOS: Castillo connects for a two-run dinger
Joe Kelly (5-6, 5.69 ERA) rode all that offense to one of his best starts of the season, holding the Mariners to four hits and a run over six innings while walking two and striking out six.
Seattle didn't gain any momentum from Hisashi Iwakuma's no-hitter, as starter Mike Montgomery was belted around for 10 hits and nine runs over 2 1/3 innings. The 15 runs and 21 hits were both season-bests for the Red Sox. For the Mariners, it was also the most hits or runs they've allowed in a game since 2013.
"His command was just not good," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said of the rookie Montgomery. "He left a lot of balls up in the middle of the plate. In this type of ballpark with those type of hitters, you're going to get hurt. It was just not a good outing." More >
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Red Sox break out the gloves: The Red Sox also played tremendous defense in this one. Mookie Betts made a sensational leaping grab against the Green Monster in left-center to take extra bases from Robinson Cano in the third. In the eighth, Boston made two more impressive plays. The first was from Bradley, who ranged back and made a nice leaping grab in the corner in right to haul in a Kyle Seager liner that could have been a homer. One batter later, second baseman Brock Holt perfectly timed his leap to take a hit away from Nelson Cruz. More >
Video: Must C Catch: Betts makes an amazing grab at the wall
They started with a bang: The Mariners appeared ready to jump on Kelly early, with Seager ripping a solo homer for a quick 1-0 lead. Cruz and Seth Smith worked walks before Kelly got Jesus Montero on a grounder to first to escape the inning after 31 pitches. But that was all the damage Seattle could muster against the Red Sox right-hander. Seager's shot -- on a 1-2 fastball -- was his 17th homer of the season.
Encouraging start by Kelly: This was the first time Kelly pitched six innings since June 12. It was the first time he allowed as few as one run since June 6. It was Kelly's third win in as many starts.
Video: SEA@BOS: Kelly fans six over six to notch the win
Cruz's streak snapped: Cruz saw his Major League-leading 21-game hitting streak come to an end as he went 0-for-3 with a walk. The Mariners' designated hitter nearly kept his run alive with a soft liner over second base in the eighth, but Holt ran it down at the last second. Cruz's career-best hitting streak is tied for the fifth-longest in Mariners history behind Ichiro Suzuki's runs of 27, 25 and 23, and a 24-game streak by Joey Cora. Cruz said his neck felt fine after being forced to sit out Wednesday, but he did indicate his timing might have been affected.
"I fouled off a few pitches that normally I'd put in play," Cruz said. "But the good thing is I saw a lot of pitches, so the timing should be there tomorrow."
QUOTABLE
"Obviously he's the Big Rig. He's a tough battler, and I'm sure he'll come out of this thing hopefully on the good side of it and hopefully never get it again." -- Kelly, on Farrell
"I don't think he's fatigued. I really don't. I think he was just bad." -- McClendon, on Montgomery
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Shaw became the second Red Sox player in the last 100 years to have two multi-homer games in his first 18 Major League games. George Scott did it in 1966.
Video: SEA@BOS: Shaw cranks two homers in rout of Mariners
Montgomery opened his career in June with a 3-2 record and 1.62 ERA in seven starts, but the Mariners rookie is now 0-3 with an 8.01 ERA in his past seven outings.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon successfully challenged a safe call on Betts' leadoff single in the bottom of the first. Betts initially was ruled to have beaten the throw of Seager after the third baseman barehanded Betts' slow roller down the line. But the call was overturned after a review of one minute, 49 seconds.
Video: SEA@BOS: Seager makes a great barehanded play
WHAT'S NEXT
Mariners: Felix Hernandez (14-6, 3.11 ERA) goes for his American League-leading 15th win in the middle game of the three-game set at Fenway Park at 10:35 a.m. PT on Saturday. Hernandez is 8-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 17 career starts against the Red Sox, including a 3-1 record and 2.60 ERA in eight outings at Fenway.
Red Sox: Lefty Wade Miley (8-9, 4.68 ERA) will try to even his record at 1:35 p.m. ET after going winless in his last seven starts. Miley's last win at Fenway Park was on June 16. This will be his first start of the season against the Mariners.
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