Mariners drop 13th consecutive game

Jacoby Ellsbury continued his July power surge with his seventh home run of the month and John Lackey picked up his third consecutive win as the host Boston Red Sox extended Seattle’s losing streak to 13 with a 7-4 win over the tumbling Mariners on Friday night. Seattle is one loss away from tying the franchise record for consecutive losses, which was set in September 1992. Seattle hasn’t won since July 5 and is just 6-21 since the Mariners improved to 37-35 and were a half-game out of first place on June 19. Felix Hernandez (8-9) pitched strongly through six innings, but unraveled in the seventh as the Red Sox added five runs to break open the game. Lackey (8-8) only had a one-run lead until Boston’s big seventh inning. He allowed one run on eight hits and struck out for in seven innings. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 22nd save. Mike Carp hit a three-run homer for the Mariners in the eighth — the second homer of Carp’s career — to cut the lead to 7-4. It was Seattle’s first run since Ichiro Suzuki started the game with a single, stole second and third and scored on Dustin Ackley’s single. Ellsbury led off the third with a solo homer that cleared the bullpens in right field and put Boston up 2-1. The score held until the Red Sox got to Hernandez in the seventh. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ellsbury started the rally with singles, the Pedroia walked to load the bases with one out. Adrian Gonzalez poked a bases-loaded single to center with the Mariners’ infielders playing in to try and keep Boston from adding to its 2-1 lead. The ploy backfired and Saltalamacchia and Ellsbury scored, then Kevin Youkilis followed with a double. Pedroia scored and Gonzalez made it all the way around from first on left fielder Mike Carp’s throwing error. David Ortiz added a single that drove in Youkilis and put Boston up 7-1. The Red Sox have won nine of 11 and reached 60 wins in the least amount of games since 1979. Boston won its 60th game in 97 tries, the fastest the 1979 club won 60 in 95 games.