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Seattle Mariners

Lester tames Seattle

M’s fourth straight victim of Boston lefty

Associated Press
SEATTLE – Jon Lester held Seattle to three hits over eight innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Mariners 5-1 on Monday night at Safeco Field. Lester (17-8) has won four straight decisions and six of his last seven starts. He gave up three singles, two to Chone Figgins, walked three and struck out 12. It’s the seventh time this season he has struck out 10 or more. Lester, a left-hander who is from Tacoma, is tied for second in the American League in wins, is third in strikeouts (208), eighth in ERA (3.17), and tied for third in opponents batting average (.220). Daniel Bard took over in the ninth. He allowed a one-out single to Jose Lopez. Casey Kotchman then hit into a fielder’s choice and Matt Tuiasosopo struck out. In his last start July 24 at Safeco Field, Lester retired the first 17 batters but the Mariners rallied for a 5-1 victory. Lester struck out a career-high 13 that day. The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead in the second, hitting three doubles. Adrian Beltre singled to open the inning. Jed Lowrie doubled, sending Beltre to third. He came home on Josh Reddick’s groundout. Daniel Nava and Lars Anderson followed with consecutive RBI doubles. Ryan Kalish added a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Doug Fister (5-12). The Mariners scored their run in the seventh. Franklin Gutierrez drew a one-out walk. Lopez singled to left, pushing Gutierrez to third. He scored on Kotchman’s infield out. M’s fire top scout The Mariners have fired director of pro scouting Carmen Fusco with three weeks remaining in the regular season. Fusco was responsible for overseeing the scouting of major league and minor league teams. The M’s did not name a replacement.