G38: Mariners 3, Red Sox 2

Red Sox  - 010 100 000 - 2  8  2
Mariners - 020 000 001 - 3 11  1

Nick Green made a two-base throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, back-handing Ronny Cedeno's grounder and then airmailing it over first base into the camera pit. It was Green's second error of the afternoon and his 8th in only 23 games at shortstop.

The Red Sox intentionally walked Ichiro Suzuki. Franklin Gutierrez then whacked a 1-0 pitch through the 3B/SS hole into left field. Jason Bay's throw home was late and the Mariners won the game.

Masterson pitched very well (6.1-9-2-0-6, 93). He had a rough second inning, allowing a first-pitch dong to Russell Branyan and then a double and triple with two outs, but otherwise kept the ball down and in the infield (grounders and strikeouts accounted for 14 of his 19 outs).

J.D. Drew scored both Boston runs. He singled with one out in the second, took second on a fielder's choice error, went to third on Jeff Bailey's single and scored on Jason Varitek's fly ball to left. Drew crushed a 2-0 pitch to right field for his 6th home run to start the fourth inning.

He also made two fantastic catches: running back onto the warning track towards the right field corner to snag Ken Griffey's long fly in the third and then leaping at the wall in the eighth, snaring Branyan's drive right at the yellow line that runs along the top of the wall.

The Red Sox missed plenty of scoring opportunities. They loaded the bases in the second, but scored only once. They loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth and could not score (Bay P3, Lowell GIDP 643). They had runners at first and second with one out in the sixth, but Varitek GIDP 463. And finally, in the ninth, they had runners at first and second, but Jacoby Ellsbury popped to second and Dustin Pedroia flied to right.

Ellsbury singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.

***

Justin Masterson (4.89, 102 ERA+) / Jason Vargas (1.04, 439 ERA+)

This may be Masterson's last start before heading back to the bullpen:

I feel like I've gotten comfortable in the starting role as far as knowing my routine and what to do. ... [I]t's not like if I go back to the pen it's a demotion or anything like that. ... This is a case of a guy [Matsuzaka] coming back to reclaim what he already had, which is understandable. ... Wherever I am, like I always say, I've just got to pitch well.

Today's lineup:

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Jason Bay, LF
Mike Lowell, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Rocco Baldelli, DH
Jeff Bailey, 1B
Jason Varitek, C
Nick Green, SS

Julio Lugo left last night's game in the seventh with a sore left groin -- "something that's been sore for a few days". Lugo said after he singled in the fourth "and tried to go to second, it got tight then. Through the course of the game, it got a little tighter." Terry Francona thought it was "more of a hip flexor" issue.

Vargas was in the National League from 2005-07; hip and elbow surgery kept him out of pro ball last year. In 2009, the 26-year-old lefty has appeared in three games. He started against Texas last Tuesday -- his first start since July 31, 2007 -- with a pitch limit of 75-80: 5-5-1-2-3, 73.

***

From The Bill Chuck Files:

So far this season, the most runs the Indians have scored (22), the Red Sox have scored (16), the Rays have scored (15), and the Orioles have scored (12) have all been in games against the Yankees.