The Red Sox and Mariners are set to finish up their quick two-game series in Fenway Park Tuesday afternoon, with Josh Beckett taking on Blake Beavan as the Sox go for their fifth consecutive win and a sweep of Seattle.
We'll keep you up-to-date on all the action as it goes down in Fenway.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 5, Final -- And that's five straight wins, a quick sweep of the Mariners, and another well played game from the Sox! They just might be making a habit of this!
Mariners 0, Red Sox 5, End 8th -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia starts the frame off with a double, and then scores a fifth run for the Sox when Mike Carp manages to make a mess of a fly ball into the corner in left, turning an our into an RBI double. Alfredo Aceves will get some work in as the Sox go for the save.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, Mid 8th -- With Beckett out of the game, Rich Hill records a 1-2-3 eighth to keep the Sox' four-run lead intact headed to the ninth.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, End 7th -- Steve Dalabar walks David Ortiz, but strikes out Adrian Gonzalez and Will Middlebrooks to avoid harm in a scoreless seventh.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, Mid 7th -- Josh Beckett is showing signs of fatigue, hitting 90 a lot more often than 92 and falling behind in the count. Still, he's through seven scoreless with another 1-2-3 inning, and Bobby Valentine (to his credit) had Rich Hill warming up as a precaution behind him. Another complete game would be nice, but with Bobby Valentine having just shook his hand in the dugout, it seems like this one is over for Josh.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, End 6th -- The Sox go quietly in the bottom of the sixth, with Ryan Sweeney striking out against Charlie Furbush (who entered to start the fifth) to end the inning.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, Mid 6th -- The Mariners come dangerously close to scoring, with Ichiro Suzuki hitting an infield single and Jesus Montero walking to give them a pair of two-out baserunners before Kyle Seager puts some fear into Beckett with a very loud fly ball to right field. Luckily, it stays in the yard, and Cody Ross settles underneath for the out.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 4, End 5th -- Between a David Ortiz bunt and a botched double play, the Sox have their fourth run of the game. Ortiz was the unexpected first successful bunter of the year for the Sox, and then stayed alive at second when shortstop Munenori Kawasaki strayed too far from the base too early to earn the typical neighborhood call. A wild pitch would move Ortiz to third before WIll Middlebrooks bounced a Fenway single off the Monster to score him.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 3, Mid 5th -- Josh Beckett strikes out two more batters around a walk of Mike Carp. That's nine strikeouts to two hits and a walk through five innings for Josh Beckett. Perhaps the golf jokes will go away tonight?
Mariners 0, Red Sox 3, End 4th -- The Sox get some good stuff from the bottom of the order this time around, with Cody Ross and Daniel Nava giving the Sox a pair of one-out baserunners. Mike Aviles doubled one in, and Ryan Sweeney brought in a second with a ground ball out.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 1, Mid 4th -- Like Jon Lester before him, Josh Beckett sees his perfection come to an end after three innings on an infield single. Beckett returns to the strikeout for the next at bat, getting John Jaso on a curveball before Ichiro provides a more convincing hit to center field. The next two batters go down on weak contact, however, leaving the Mariners scoreless.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 1, End 3rd -- Arguably the cleanest inning for Blake Beavan so far also features the first Red Sox run of the game, as David Ortiz takes the young Seattle starter into the bullpen in right field for a solo shot. The rest of the Sox go down with relatively little fuss.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 0, Mid 3rd -- The third is the longest inning yet for Josh Beckett, who needs 17 pitches to record three outs. That's largely because he struck out all three batters he faced, however. So that makes it better.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 0, End 2nd -- Another two baserunners, another long inning, but still no runs for the Red Sox. Jarrod Saltalamacchia leads the frame off with a single, and moves to second when Daniel Nava gets hit by a pitch with one out. But a pop out from Mike Aviles and strike out from Ryan Sweeney end the threat in a hurry.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 0, Mid 2nd -- After freezing Jesus Montero with a curveball for a called strike three and getting a ground ball from Kyle Seager which Mike Aviles makes a great diving play on for the out, Josh Beckett has to wait through a lengthy foul review after Justin Smoak plants a first-pitch four-seamer in the seats in right. The call comes back foul, and Beckett refuses to give Smoak another straight four-seamer, eventually striking him out swinging at a curveball.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 0, End 1st -- The Sox threaten to score in the first with a Dustin Pedroia infield single and a walk from Adrian Gonzalez, but Will Middlebrooks grounds out to end the frame. Still, 29 pitches for Beavan is a good sign after just one inning.
Mariners 0, Red Sox 0, Mid 1st -- The ceremonies for Tim Wakefield day (featuring Doug Mirabelli) are over, and as ominous black clouds roll over Fenway, Josh Beckett retires the Mariners in order in the top of the first. Dustin Ackley went down swinging to start the game, as he did against Jon Lester. John Jaso put the ball on a line to right, but Cody Ross managed to back up and make a bit of a sketchy grab for the second out before Ichiro flew out to center to end the inning.