G70: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1

Red Sox  - 010 001 000 - 2  9  0
Mariners - 000 010 000 - 1  6  0

After looking lost and striking out in his two previous at-bats against Felix Hernandez, Xander Bogaerts snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out home run in the sixth inning as David Price (7-5-1-0-7, 106) outpitched Hernandez (7-8-2-1-6, 104).

The Red Sox are now a MLB-best 30-3 when they score first. They also remained 1 GA of the Yankees, who edged the Rays 4-3.

Boston took the early lead in the second. Rafael Devers (whose last name the Seattle TV announcers consistently pronounced to rhyme with "beavers") lined a single to right. Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger came in a bit and had the ball hit off his glove - and was not given an error for some reason. Devers stole second and scored when Jackie Bradley ripped a double into the right field corner.

Price cruised through the first four innings. He allowed a two-out single in the first and a two-out single in the third. In the latter inning, Price promptly picked Dee Gordon off first base to end the frame.

In the fifth, Kyle Seager lined a single to left and Ryon Healy singled to center. On Price's first pitch to Guillermo Heredia, Seager stole third without a throw (actually Christian Vazquez's threw the ball to second). Heredia lofted the next pitch to left, and Seager scored on the sac fly.

After Mitch Moreland grounded into a double play in the sixth, Bogaerts fell behind 0-2. He took two balls and fouled off a couple of pitches before hitting his 10th dong to left-center.

Bogaerts also began two double plays by making excellent plays at shortstop. In the sixth, Price apparently hit Gordon (or a thread on his jersey) with a pitch, although three super-slow replays on the Seattle feed failed to convince me he was actually hit. Jean Segura fouled off seven pitches in an 11-pitch at-bat, finally grounding the ball up the middle. Bogaerts ranged left and half-slid behind the bag to corral the ball. He then reached back and slapped the bag with his glove, forcing Gordon, before throwing to first.

Bogaerts's second DP ended the game. Craig Kimbrel began the ninth by walking Haniger on four pitches. He also was not sharp pitching to Nelson Cruz and walked him. Kimbrel rebounded to strike out Seager on three pitches. Healy grounded a 1-1 pitch to shortstop. Bogaerts moved to his right, grabbed the ball and threw to second from his knees. Eduardo Nunez's relay to first beat Healy by a step or two.

J.D. Martinez was on base three times, with two singles and a walk. ... Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi went a combined 0-for-8. ... Four of the bottom five hitters in the Red Sox's lineup reached base twice, with Bogaerts, Devers, and Vazquez each getting two hits..

David Price / Felix Hernandez

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Nunez, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vazquez, C

The Red Sox lead all teams with 47 wins. The Mariners and Astros have the second-most victories (44). Seattle leads the AL West by 0.5 games.

AL Team Leaders

AVG: Red Sox (#1, .262 (tied with Astros)), Mariners (#3, .261)
OBP: Red Sox (#3, .329), Mariners (#5, .323)
SLG: Red Sox (#2, .457), Mariners (#5, .428)
ERA: Red Sox (#2, 3.42), Mariners (#5, 3.86)
WHIP: Red Sox (#5, 1.202), Mariners (#6, 1.218)

Five Seattle pitchers have made eight or more starts this year - and Felix Hernandez has the worst ERA among them:

Wade LeBlanc    ( 8 starts, 3.00) will pitch Saturday (vs Wright)
James Paxton    (14 starts, 3.02) will pitch Friday (vs Porcello)
Marco Gonzales  (14 starts, 3.42)
Mike Leake      (14 starts, 4.26) will pitch Sunday (vs Rodriguez)
Hernandez       (14 starts, 5.70) will pitch tonight (vs Price)

Hernandez has allowed at least four runs in six of his last seven starts (6.75 ERA).

MFY: Rays/Yankees (1.0 GB).