Well, that wasn’t great. But after a rough weekend in New York the Red Sox are at home for three games against the Seattle Mariners. Boston sits at 74-63, in the second Wild Card, and has a 5.0 game lead over the Cleveland Guardians sitting in the third Wild Card. The Seattle Mariners are 5.0 games behind Cleveland. They are at 64-73. They are 5.0 games back in the AL West. Amazingly they aren’t yet out of it but that’s the 2026 American League.
Boston won 2 of 3 games against Seattle back in May,
just before the Colorado Collapse and the Turnaround for All Time. Ranger Suarez, Connelly Early, and Payton Tolle started those games and the one they lost was a 3-1 outing started by Tolle. Mass Pike allowed 3 runs in 6.0 innings and was relieved by Danny Coulombe (gone) and Ryan Watson (gone).
George Kirby did not face the Red Sox in June when he was having a better go of things. In the last month, Kirby has struggled against the Astros (4.2, 5 earned) and Brewers (3.1, 6 earned). However he also had some success: 7.0 shutout innings against the Twins, 7.1 innings of 1-run ball against the Phillies. His other August start was a middle level: just 5.0 innings but only 1 run. He’s opposed by Payton Tolle. Still in his second MLB season, Tolle is called on to be the stopper. After three losses in NY he’s the one the team is counting on to reverse the bad run. Against the Marlins he struck out 7 over 5.1 innings. The ‘pen is rested thanks to Mona but 6.0+ innings of shutdown baseball would be welcome. Hopefully the bats can back him up early.
Bryan Woo also missed the Sox when they were in Seattle. While Kirby shut down the Philles last week, Woo struggled: 4.0 innings and 6 runs allowed. And the Rangers and Dodgers each hit him for 5 in July. He’s struck out 5 batters in four straight outings heading into Tuesday. Sonny Gray was bumped from his normal schedule to get a little more rest. The Sox insist there is nothing wrong, this is just load management. If this is true, the Sox are looking at that big lead over Wild Card 3 and saying they need to keep their key players at their best. The Yankees shuffled their rotation to prioritize last weekend. Boston did not. Gray and Tolle faced the Fish instead. This might have handed the Yankees home field advantage but the tradeoff is the Sox are looking at October. If they are ready to go vs. a little tired will that be more important?
The series concludes with Seattle not knowing exactly who will pitch. But the Sox send forth Yankees Killer Patrick Sandoval.
Was this his best start for Boston? Maybe? It tied his high in strikeouts (7) and he allowed just 3 hits in 5.1 innings. One solo home run decided the game. There were walks (4) which wasn’t the best thing but he’s literally the last guy in the rotation and is – mostly – keeping them in games. The last time he faced the Mariners was 2023. Were the Yankees just unprepared? Is he gaining strength and feeling as he makes more starts? Are the Mariners a good offense?
Cal Raleigh hit 3 home runs in one game against the Phillies. Plus 1 more in the series and 1 against Toronto this weekend. This his streak has him up to 19 homers and a .171/.288/.353 slash line. He had an .867 OPS in August but that came with a .195 batting average but a .347 OBP.
Randy Arozarena, Julio Rodriguez, and Dominic Canzone each have 20 homers to lead the team.
Josh Naylor leads the Mariners with 25 steals. He’s still running and still taking bags. Who else not know for speed could just add this to their game?
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday, August 31: George Kirby (4.02 ERA /3.32 FIP) vs. Payton Tolle (3.09 ERA / 3.19 FIP)
Tuesday, September 1: Bryan Woo (4.36 ERA / 3.42 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (2.82— ERA / 3.54 FIP)
Wednesday, September 2: TBD (— ERA / — FIP) vs. Patrick Sandoval (4.20 ERA / 4.22 FIP)
When/Where to Watch
Monday, August 31: 6:45 PM ET on NESN
Tuesday, September 1: 6:45 PM ET on NESN
Wednesday, September 2: 4;10 PM ET on NESN
