Final score: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1

There is little more exciting than bonus baseball. Aside from your perfect games, your no-hitters, your best cleanup hitter arriving with the bases loaded and two outs, watching a game roll into extra innings keeps you on the edge of your seat for each at-bat.

The Mariners battled with the Red Sox for this series, going back and forth with Felix’s 13-strikeout complete game, a 4-home run parade by the Sox, and a Chone Figgins walkoff sac fly in an 11th inning rally. Tonight, they dragged a 1-1 game into 10 innings, finally surrendering on a sac fly by David Ortiz.

Part of me wants to rejoice that the Mariners held their own against a team not currently scraping the bottom of any MLB division. Part of me is excited that the Red Sox had to fight for this series in the first place, even with Erasmo Ramirez’s elbow injury and Franklin Gutierrez’s face getting smashed on a pickoff throw to first. And then part of me remembers tonight’s game and is reminded why the Mariners are only headed as far as third place in the AL West this season.

First, the positives. Jason Vargas crafted his strongest start since the beginning of May, lasting 8 innings with 5 hits, an earned run, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. After seven scoreless innings, he lost his shutout bid on a 1-0 fastball to Dustin Pedroia. Tom Wilhelmsen boosted his streak to 18.2 innings without allowing a run, closing the door with a Kelly Shoppach strikeout to end the 9th.

And then Brandon League happened.

In the 10th, League needed just four pitches to put runners at the corners. Lucas Luetge entered with one out and promptly induced a fly ball from David Ortiz, handing League a loss to set next to his blown save from Boston’s Friday night shutout.

And then the offense happened; or rather, didn’t happen.

I realize that it’s a tired bit. The Mariners’ offense has been lackluster at best, spreading 20 hits and 5 runs over 39 innings. Still, with the 7 walks graciously handed to the team tonight, it’s not unreasonable to believe they could have made more of their opportunities. In 30 at-bats, they hacked at first pitches 10 times for 5 outs. Jesus Montero stranded 6 runners and induced the last out in 4 separate innings. With a mere one-run deficit to overcome, the Mariners saw just 5 pitches from Alfredo Aceves in the 10th.

Tomorrow, the Orioles arrive to close out the last homestand before the All-Star break. Because I can’t think of anything positive to say about that match-up, I’ll end this wrap with a hearty congratulations to Felix Hernandez, who was named an American League All-Star this morning and has announced his intention of appearing in the game next Tuesday.

Next game: vs. Orioles | July 2 | 7:10pm

The Mariners welcome the Red Sox to town tonight, following yesterday’s miserable series loss to Oakland.

Current record: 40-35

Last game: vs. Blue Jays. The Sox clinched the series with a 10-4 blowout by Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Aviles, and Cody Ross, polishing off their fifth consecutive series win.

They are currently riding a two-game winning streak, having surrendered the first match-up in a 9-6 loss, after Felix Doubront handed over 11 hits and 7 runs in just 6 IP.

At the conclusion of this last series, Boston slipped into a third-place tie with Tampa Bay.

Last series against Seattle: May 14 – 15, 2012. The Mariners are 0-for-2 against the Red Sox this season, swept in a brief two-game interlude last month. They eked out just 12 hits and 1 run during the series, falling short against Jon Lester’s 6K complete game and Josh Beckett’s 9K shutout.

Pitching matchups: Thursday — Felix Hernandez vs. LHP Franklin Morales. With just two starts under his belt, Morales comes into this series armed with a 2.98 SIERA, 2.80 FIP, and 4.11 K/BB. He last made an appearance on Saturday against Atlanta, fanning 8 of 25 batters, walking one, and allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs.

Friday — Hector Noesi vs. RHP Aaron Cook. Cook’s numbers are equally as unreliable after just two major league games this season. He last pitched against the Braves for a quick 5 inning start, giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs in 21 batters. It was a considerable improvement over his Red Sox debut, which aired on May 5 for a disastrous 2.2 innings, during which he surrendered 8 hits, 7 runs, and a walk to 16 Orioles. He has yet to log a strikeout in 2012.

Saturday — Erasmo Ramirez vs. RHP Josh Beckett. As mentioned above, Beckett pitched his way through 27 batters for a 4H, 9K shutout of Seattle in May, aided by relievers Rich Hill and Alfredo Aceves. He sports a SIERA of 4.01 in 12 starts, with a 3.29 K/BB and 3.78 FIP.

Sunday — Jason Vargas vs. LHP Felix Doubront. Felix has kept respectable numbers over his 15 appearances, earning a 3.61 SIERA and 4.13 FIP for a current WAR of 1.3. Despite a K/BB of 3.00, Doubront recorded just 2 strikeouts in his last start, after an 11-hit, 7-run beatdown from the Blue Jays on Monday. That outing featured the most hits given up by Doubrount this season, as well as the fewest strikeouts since May 7.

Expected results: The Mariners may be wedged in last place right now, but their behavior against top-seeded teams and struggling franchises never fails to puzzle me. I don’t know whether to predict another combined no-hitter or expect them to roll over again, as they did this week against the Athletics. Felix on the mound is always a sure thing; however, the anemic offense we’ve seen in this homestand is equally as predictable.

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