When the Seattle Mariners were in West Sacramento, Calif., late last month, the Athletics started left-handers in two of the teams’ three matchups.
The Mariners swept the series to move past the A’s and into first place in the American League West, where they remain.
The Boston Red Sox are scheduled to start not two, but three, lefties this weekend in Seattle in a three-game series that will continue on Saturday night.
The situation worked well for the Red Sox on Friday night as Ranger Suarez allowed one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings in Boston’s 6-2 victory that snapped the Red Sox’s four-game losing streak. Teammate Caleb Durbin went 3-for-4 with a double and a home run.
The only runners Suarez (3-3) allowed through six-plus innings came on a pair of walks to Cal Raleigh before Josh Naylor doubled into the gap in right-center field with one out in the seventh.
“He was amazing. I could smell the no-hitter,” Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez said in a postgame interview on NESN. “He was controlling the zone and mixing everything.”
Suarez said he jinxed himself in trying to throw Boston’s first no-hitter since Jon Lester accomplished the feat in 2008.
“When I was going into the seventh inning, it was the first time I thought about it,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “Once I realized that I was thinking about it, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. The first (six) innings, I was pitching well and I wasn’t thinking about it. Once I started thinking about it, it didn’t go the way I wanted.”
The Mariners entered the game 27th out of 30 MLB teams with an 85 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) against left-handers; 100 is the league average.
To combat that, the Mariners called up right-handed-hitting utilityman Weston Wilson from Triple-A Tacoma and designated Miles Mastrobuoni for assignment.
“We have a pretty left-handed-heavy lineup and roster, so we’re looking to get someone right-handed in here, and that’s where Weston comes in,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Wilson, signed to a minor-league contract Sunday, a week after being DFA’ed by Baltimore, started at third base and went 0-for-3 while batting ninth.
The left-handed-hitting Mastrobuoni was a popular player in the clubhouse and a key reserve in Seattle’s playoff run last season.
“Always difficult to lose a player who’s part of the family,” manager Wilson said. “What ‘Stro’ did here … was outstanding. He filled a lot of holes and played in a lot of different spots for us.”
Julio Rodriguez returned to the lineup after sitting out Thursday with a hamstring spasm and hit a two-run homer to thwart Boston’s shutout bid.
The Red Sox are scheduled to send left-hander Connelly Early (5-5, 3.81 ERA) to the mound Saturday against Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (5-3, 3.28).
Early is 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA this month. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings Sunday in a 6-4 loss to visiting Texas as he gave up six runs on 11 hits, both season worsts. Early will face the Mariners for the first time in his career.
Like Early, Hancock is coming off his worst start of the season, a 10-1 loss Sunday in Washington in which he allowed six runs on nine hits over four innings.
Hancock is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in one previous start against the Red Sox.
–Field Level Media
