Blunder ruins M’s chances

 SEATTLE – Even in a Mariners season of 91 losses (and counting), some defeats stand out as more galling than others.

Such was the case Wednesday as the Red Sox completed a three-game sweep with a 5-1 triumph at Safeco Field, extending the latest Seattle losing streak to seven games.

The Mariners’ offensive woes, particularly their clutch-hitting failures, are old hat by this late juncture of a season that can’t end fast enough. However, they managed to put a new twist on the torment in the second inning – and added a costly fielding gaffe later in the game for good measure.

“Pretty much the bottom line today is too many mistakes against a good club,” manager Daren Brown said. “You make too many mistakes and you are not going to give yourself a chance to win.”

Staked to a 1-0 lead on a towering Russ Branyan homer off Red Sox ace Clay Buchholz in the first inning, the Mariners had a golden opportunity to blow it open in the second. Casey Kotchman led off with an infield single, and Jose Lopez ripped a double to put runners on second and third with none out.

But that promising scenario blew up when Kotchman was nailed at third on a pickoff by Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez to third baseman Adrian Beltre, who had moved in behind Kotchman.

“It was a situation where Clay was in trouble a little bit – second and third, no outs – and we took a chance to try to make a play and make it easier for him to get out of the inning,” Beltre said.

Buchholz walked Michael Saunders, but he got Adam Moore and Chris Woodward on ground outs, stranding runners on second and third.

“That was a big boost because the next guy hit a ground ball to shortstop, so that’s a run right there,” Buchholz said. “You’ve got two great players – one behind the plate and the other playing third base. When they’re on the same page and they can make things happen like that, all it does for the team is get them ready to hit in the dugout.”

From that point, Buchholz (16-7) buckled down, allowing just one more hit and no runs through seven innings. His earned-run average dropped to 2.48, second in the American League behind only the 2.38 of M’s ace Felix Hernandez.

“It’s frustrating,” Branyan said of squandering scoring opportunities. “Do I have an answer? No, I’ve been a part of that. We continue to get in those situations and try to do more than what we actually need to do. Whether there’s a sense of urgency or what it might be, we’re just not getting it done in those situations.”