Pitching and defense highlights solid win for Sox

Sox 5, Mariners 3
WP: Colon (2-0)
LP: Hernandez (2-5)
HRs: BOS-Ortiz (12); SEA-None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox got back on the winning track in a game that featured numerous terrific defensive plays and stellar starting pitching. Boston broke open a 1-1 tie in the 8th when it plated 4 runs off Felix Hernandez, and Jonathan Papelbon closed out the game after a tumultuous 9th inning.

SUPERSTAR: Bartolo Colon 7IP, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, 4K, 84P
As good as the former Cy Young winner was in his debut last week, tonight he was even better as Colon was hitting his spots all night and worked his way out of several jams thanks to his composure and defense.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Hernandez 7IP, 7H, 5ER, 5BB, 5K, HR, 112P
Hard to believe this was the same guy who tossed a one-hit masterpiece against the Sox last year in Fenway. This time he was just okay, at least for seven innings, until Boston broke it open in the 8th off the tiring former phenom.

RECAP:
"Did you see that catch by Ichiro? "

Be prepared to hear that a lot because the Mariner centerfielder's incredible, Mays-esque wall-crashing catch to rob Jason Varitek of extra bases in the 5th inning will be replayed on highlight reels and between innings for years to come.

Fortunately for the Sox this game was more than a great catch as Boston got a few nice defensive plays of its own and a quality start from Bartolo Colon to snap its three game losing streak and send Seattle to its 7th straight defeat.

But man was that catch awesome or what?!

See we in the Nation can appreciate it now that our team got the win. But at the time it occurred it was one of those "oh my god, they're gonna use that great grab as a springboard to break the skid they're on and win this game" type of moments.

After all the score was just 1-0 Boston, courtesy of a David Ortiz moonshot off Hernandez in the 4th inning, and Colon had got himself into a couple of mini-jams the two innings prior to "The Catch", giving the Mariners hope that they could mount a comeback and win the game.

But alas Colon, who did allow the game tying run in the 6th inning, buckled down and kept the Ms in check, and the slumbering Boston offense did the rest as they finally awoke in the 8th inning to put this game - and the Nation - to bed.

But not before some tense moments supplied by closer Jonathan Papelbon, who apparently has definitely been hanging with the rest of the bullpen crew too much.

The game started out as a pitcher's duel right from the get-go, with both Colon and Hernandez setting the sides down in order through the first 2 1/2 innings before Bartolo ran into his first spot of trouble in the bottom of the third.

Kenji Johjima started the rally with a one-out double down the left field line and Yunieski Betancourt moved him to third when he followed that hit with a solid single to right. The only thing that kept Johjima from scoring was the threat of Drew's strong arm, a play that would prove fortunate for the Sox.

Colon got Ichiro (2-5, R, BI) to fly out to shallow center to hold the runner at third, and then Dustin Pedroia turned in the game's first defensive gem when he snagged a skidding grounder by Jose Lopez that seemed headed to right field, did one of his patented bounce-ups, and threw to Sean Casey at first to get the final out of the inning.

Ortiz made the M's immediately regret the missed opportunity when he turned on a Hernandez fastball and drove it approximately 420 feet to deep, straightaway center field for his 12th homer of the season and second in two days, and Boston had a tenuous 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the 4th the Mariners staged another mini-threat when after a leadoff walk to Jose Vidro, Colon's only free pass of the night, JD Drew made a nice running catch of a ball that appeared headed for the corner to rob Jeremy Reed of a possible game-tying extra base hit.

The Sox missed a chance to add to their lead when JD Drew singled with one out in the 5th, but that's when Ichiro pulled his wall-crashing stunt that electrified the crowd and crushed the Sox chance to put another run on the board.

Seattle finally broke through Colon's armor in the 6th when Ichiro led off with a single, Lopez was hit by a pitch, and after Vidro sacrificed both runners over Raul Ibanez grounded out to Pedroia to plate Ichiro with the game tying run.

Both starters escaped trouble in the 7th, Hernandez sandwiching a pair of walks between a double play by Lowell and Colon working around a pair of singles to retire Inchiro on a fly out, and then Boston broke it open as King Feliz tired in the 8th.

Hernandez hasn't been the same pitcher since that game at Fenway last April when he took a no hitter into the 8th before Drew spoiled his bid at history, and after bursting onto the scene in that game he has spent a lot of time on the DL and trying to find his lost mojo.

In the 8th his mojo took another beating as Boston batted around, scoring 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk, and why Mariners manager John McLaren left his tiring starter in there to absorb the beating is a question that I'm sure will be debated in the Pacific Northwest for the next 24 hours.
Sean Casey, playing for Youk, started the rally with a sharp single to right, but Julio Lugo's sac bunt attempt failed miserably as Richie Sexson pounced on the ball and nailed Casey at second.

When Jacoby Ellsbury (1-4, BB) grounded out to second it looked like the rally was dead before it started, although it did move Lugo over to scoring position.

But Dustin Pedroia launched the next pitch from Hernandez to deep left center for a ground rule double that broke the tie, and after McLaren decided to intentionally walk Ortiz (1-4, 2R, BI, BB, 2K), Manny Ramirez made him pay with a booming single to deep right that scored Pedroia and set up runners at second and third for Mike Lowell.

Only a sterling defensive play by third baseman Adrian Beltre prevented the inning from becoming a catastrophe as Beltre snared Lowell's hot shot down the line to keep the ball in the infield as Papi scored Boston's fourth run, but an infield single by Drew (2-3, BB) and a bases loaded walk to Tek sealed the fate of Hernandez and the Ms.

Staked to a 5-1 lead Okajima did his job in the 8th before handing the game over to Papelbon in the 9th, but the closer made the game a lot closer than it should have been as he nearly broke down on the mound.

Paps allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and a throwing error of his own before finally getting Vidro to ground out to end the game, and with that the losing skid was snapped and Boston climbed back to 1/2 game out of first place behind the surging Rays.

All in all it was an excellent effort after the debacle in Oakland, one that was filled with many positives for Boston, not the least of which is the apparent addition of another quality starter to the rotation in the form of the rejuvenated Colon.

But did you see that catch by Ichiro?

RECORD: 32-22
AL EAST: 1/2 GB
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Tue @ SEA 10:10 Matsuzaka vs. Bautista