Ding dong the Safeco streak is dead

Sox 4, Seattle 3
WP: Matsuzaka (13-8)
LP: Washburn (8-8)
SV: Papelbon (25)
HRs:SEA-Beltre (17), Betancourt (7)

SUMMARY
The Sox stopped their 9-game skid at Safeco Field as Dice-K struck out a career-tying high 10 batters, Captain Tek hit the go-ahead 2-run double, and after Eric Gagne allowed a run in the 8th, Paps escaped a two-on, two-out jam to end the Safeco slide.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 7IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 10K
Following his tough-luck loss at Tampa Bay Matsuzaka turned in an awesome performance, escaping a couple of jams thanks to a pair of double plays and baffling the Mariners hitters with his nasty fastball.

PAN's FAUN Jose Guillen 0-4, 4K, BB
The ill-tempered outfielder took home the Golden Sombrero tonight with his pitiful 4-K effort, and if it weren't for a lousy home town call he could have added a 5th strikeout in the 9th. He also airmailed a throw to third base that allowed Boston's 3rd run to score.

RECAP
At least this game got over earlier than last night's.

Instead of ending at 1:30 this one wrapped up at 1:20 EST.

But hey, at least this time those of us who stayed up got to witness a win, Boston's first at Safeco Field in its last 10 tries.

Although the victory didn't come easy. New bullpen addition Eric Gagne gave up his second run in as many appearances when he allowed three hits in the eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon walked two batters after he fanned the first two batters in the 9th, but he retired Adrian Beltre on a foul pop to Varitek to escape with the much-needed win.

Just like last night this one ended way too late for me to put together a coherent recap of events, so I will attempt to tackle that task later this morning.

At least tonight we can all go to bed happy.

Alright, I'm back and after downing a gallon of java I am ready to recap the latest late-nite extravaganza our Sox were involved in way out there on the left coast.

As most of the last 9 games have gone for our boys out there, this one didn't start off too well either. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who allowed a 7th inning home run to Dioner Navarro last Sunday in Tampa Bay to break a scoreless tie, wasted little time in matching that dubious feat tonight, surrendering a solo shot to Adrian Beltre with one out in the second to give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead.

After the Sox wasted an infield single by Lugo when he was erased on a double play in the top of the third, Dice-K got into another jam in the bottom of the inning when he hit Jose Lopez to start the frame, then surrendered a single to pesky Yuniuesky Betancourt (2-4, R, BI) and after Ichiro grounded into a fielder's choice, Jose Vidro reached on an infield single to load the bases with one out.

But Matsuzaka buckled down and got Guillen to strike out, then retired Raul Ibanez on a fly ball to escape the inning unscathed.

The Sox batters would finally crack Jarod Washburn (6.1IP, 8H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K)in the fourth, and the rally started when the smokin' hot Big Papi (2-4, 2R) laced a solid single to left, then took second when Ibanez bobbled the ball.

Washburn walked Manny on four pitches, then after Lowell popped out, Varitek stepped up with a chance to do some damage to the team that traded him away for the immortal Heathcliff Slocum.

And the Captain didn't disappoint.

After running the count full, Tek roped a double to deep left, easily plating Papi and Manny, running hard from first and nearly colliding with DeMarlo Hale, slid home and tagged the plate with his hand to score the go-ahead run.

In the sixth the Sox would get some insurance, and Guillen, who had a run-in with the Sox earlier this season at Fenway, played a big part in the rally.

Youk (2-5, R) led off the inning with a double to deep center, one of six two-baggers for Boston, and then Papi followed dropped a single to right. But the overanxious Guillen thought he could gun Youk down at third, and when his throw sailed into the stands behind the bag, Youk trotted home and Ortiz took second, and
Boston had the kind of break it needed to snap the Safeco slide.

When Manny ripped a double to center two pitches later to score Papi with the Sox 4th run, all it would take was a couple more solid innings from Dice-K and then Tito could hand the game over to his new 1-2 bullpen punch and escape this contest with a 'W'.

Matsuzaka barely did his part, wriggling out of a 2-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the sixth by retiring the next three batters, two by strikeout, but after he surrendered Betancourt's second homer in as many nights on the first pitch of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-2 it looked like the Ms might find a way steal another win in Boston's personal house of horrors.

And Boston's new setup man didn't do much to quell that sick feeling when he made his second appearance in the eighth.

Gagne allowed a cheesy run in his first outing courtesy of a wind blown double at Fenway on Thursday, but there was nothing cheesy about this rally that cut the Sox lead to one run.

Just like Thursday Gagne retired the first two batters he faced, then got into trouble when he surrendered a hard single to center by Ben Broussard, and after allowing him to waltz to second, Kenji Johjima drilled a single to left that scored Broussard with the run that had every (awake) member of RSN thinking "oh no, not again!"

But after Lopez doubled on the very next pitch, Gagne got Betancourt to tap back to the mound, and everyone breathed a big sigh of relief that Boston's biggest trade acquisition in three years didn't blow the game in his 2nd appearance in a Sox uni.

All that was left was for Papelbon to come in and shut down the Ms in the 9th and the streak would be over, but even the normally stingy Paps couldn't end this one easily.

He fanned the first two batters, making Ichiro () look foolish on a heater up and away, but then walked the next two hitters to set up another possible crushing defeat here in the land of Starbucks and Microsoft.

But sanity prevailed when Beltre popped up to Varitek on the first pitch he saw, and Boston's 9-game losing streak finally came to an end as most of the rest of the country slept.

Matsuzaka now joins teammates Josh Beckett & Tim Wakefield along with 4 others for second place in the league in wins, and it only took a 3000 mile journey and a nail-biting finish to get there.