Back at .500 and fresh off a celebration of their World Series championship at the White House, the Boston Red Sox eye a winning record for the first time this season as they host the scuffling Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series Friday.
The Red Sox, winners of eight of their last 10 games to erase the losing record they held since March 30 in Seattle, will send left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (3-2, 5.40 ERA) to the mound. The Mariners counter with rookie right-hander Erik Swanson (1-3, 4.94).
While some members of the Red Sox spent their off day Thursday at the White House being honored by President Donald Trump for their 2018 championship (and others members, including their manager, skipped the trip), the Mariners fell 3-1 on the road to the New York Yankees — their ninth loss in the past 11 games.
The loss also put the Mariners at .500 — just the second time all season they aren’t above .500.
Frustration particularly set in Friday when second baseman Dee Gordon was forced to leave the game after getting hit by a pitch from Yankees starter J.A. Happ on the right wrist in the third inning. Gordon will get a CT scan in Boston on Friday after initial X-rays proved inconclusive, according to Seattle manager Scott Servais.
“I was (ticked) off. It was the second time he threw up by my head,” Gordon told reporters after the game. “You’ve got to get the ball down. You can’t throw that pitch. I got a family. You need to get the ball, you need to get the ball the (expletive) down.”
Gordon wasn’t the only Mariner banged up as slugger Edwin Encarnacion had to come in and play second base for the first time in his career late in the game, hurting his left wrist on a diving play. He stayed in the game, however. Encarnacion only had to move to second after Dylan Moore, who initially replaced Gordon, was pulled for a pinch hitter because he is battling a wrist injury of his own.
“It was really bothering (Moore) swinging the bat. I knew that going into the game today but Dee got hurt,” said Servais, who will miss the first two games of the series with the Red Sox attending his daughter’s graduation. “We’ll have to wait and see how he is tomorrow. We may need to get some extra help into Boston and see what we do roster-wise.”
Bench coach Manny Acta will serve as Seattle’s manager in Servais’ absence, just as he did when Servais missed two games for another daughter’s graduation last season.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, are starting to fire on all cylinders, leading the American League in scoring this month while their pitching, namely ace Chris Sale, is starting to settle after a rocky start.
“We’re playing good baseball right now, but we can be better,” skipper Alex Cora told reporters recently.
Rodriguez has won two of his last three starts, including allowing just one run in six innings against the Chicago White Sox his last time out. But he scuffled against the Mariners in his first start of the season on March 30, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. For his career, Rodriguez is 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA in six starts against Seattle.
Swanson will face the Red Sox for the first time. The 25-year-old held the Cleveland Indians to one hit over six innings in his last start to earn his first major league win.