The Red Sox lead the Mariners 5-2 after three innings thanks to a wild first inning.
Tim Wakefield got off to a tough start, hitting the second batter he faced before serving up a flat knuckleball to Miguel Olivo, who promptly dropped it into the Monster seats for a 2-run homer. Wake would give up a wall-ball double to Justin Smoak before Josh Reddick helped him escape the inning by gunning down Smoak at home, who tried to score on a single from Mike Carp.
The Mariners' lead lasted for all of four batters. Up against probable Rookie of the Year Michael Pineda, the Sox sent nine men to the plate in the first. Jacoby Ellsbury doubled, and scored on Adrian Gonzalez' single to put the first run on the board for the Sox, who quickly took the lead on Kevin Youkilis' two-run shot over the Monster. The clean slate after the homer didn't help Pineda any, as David Oritz and Carl Crawford both planted balls off the wall, setting up Jarrod Saltalamacchia for a two-RBI base hit into right field which put the Sox up 5-2.
Since then, both offenses have slowed down noticeably, with Wakefield and Pineda each facing just seven batters over the next two innings. The Sox do have a very full bullpen, with both Kyle Weiland and Alfredo Aceves ready to go should Tim Wakefield run into major trouble again.