Seattle held the lead after one inning. It did not hold it much longer. Wilyer Abreu's two-run homer to center in the fourth turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 Boston advantage, and the Red Sox never looked back, pulling away with three more in the sixth to win 5-1 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Park.
Connelly Early was the story on the mound. The right-hander worked six innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts on 98 pitches. He picks up his sixth win of the season against five losses, carrying a 3.64 ERA.
The Mariners struck first. Josh Naylor singled to center in the bottom of the first, scoring J.P. Crawford to make it 1-0. That lead stood until Abreu's go-ahead blast in the fourth — a 414-foot shot to center that also scored Anthony Seigler and put Boston ahead 2-1. The Red Sox extended the margin in the sixth. Abreu scored on a wild pitch by Jose Ferrer to make it 3-1, then Caleb Durbin reached on an infield single to shortstop, scoring Willson Contreras. Marcelo Mayer followed with an infield single to second, scoring Jarren Duran, capping a three-run frame and pushing the lead to 5-1.
Emerson Hancock absorbed the loss for Seattle, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits over 5.1 innings, with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. He falls to 5-4 on the season with a 3.60 ERA. The Mariners managed only 2 hits on the night.
Boston improves to 30-43 with the victory. J.P. Crawford, who scored Seattle's lone run, is 10 games away from 1,000 career games played and 3 runs away from 500 career runs scored. Seattle drops to 39-38, remaining atop their division despite the loss.