Mariners get mowed down by Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, drop another series

SEATTLE – Facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, the Seattle Mariners followed up a Tuesday night breakout with a Wednesday afternoon dud, as the Mariners simply didn’t get the hits they needed in the moments they needed them.

After tagging standout Boston lefty Garrett Crochet for four earned runs on five hits and five walks the last time they faced him at Fenway Park on April 24, the Mariners couldn’t pull off a repeat performance on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park.

They did manage six hits against the All-Star starter, but Crochet allowed just one run and zero walks this time around, while striking out eight batters.

The Mariners also left five runners on base while going 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position in a 3-1 loss that sent the Red Sox out of town with a series victory.

“I thought (Crochet) had a pretty good cutter today,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I think overall, he just commanded the strike zone a lot better than he did the last time. … He was able to make some pitches when he had to, and you know, he kept us quiet. But he’s a good pitcher and he was a tough at-bat today.”

It was a frustrating end to a roller-coaster series for the Mariners, who were shut out in a 2-0 loss on Monday against Lucas Giolito before erupting for eight runs Tuesday night.

The Mariners have lost four of five series in June.

But after a 4-2 homestand following a disastrous 1-5 road trip early in the month, Wilson still managed to see the bright side of things.

“You look at the homestand overall, 4-2, you feel pretty good about that,” Wilson said. “We’ll just continue to take some confidence from this one and move forward onto the road.”

Crochet struck out the first two Mariners hitters of the game before Cal Raleigh, hitting in the DH spot on Wednesday, lined a double to left field.

Marcelo Mayer gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead with a leadoff solo homer in the second inning off Mariners starter Luis Castillo, but the Mariners tied it in the bottom half when Randy Arozarena led off with a double, took third on a Mitch Garver flyout, and scored on a wild pitch from Crochet .

Ben Williamson and Donavon Solano both had singles in the inning, and Miles Mastrobuoni reached on a fielder’s choice.

Two innings later, Boston shortstop Trevor Story put the Red Sox back in front with a two-run blast for a 3-1 lead. Mayer got on base before the homer with a walk against Castillo, who threw three straight pitches outside after being ahead in the count 1-2.

The pitch Story hit out of the park was a sinker on the inside corner at the knees, below the strike zone. Castillo didn’t miss his spot and threw the ball with the intention of getting Story to hit it on the ground, but Story ruined those plans with his 10th homer of the season.

“It’s a surprise,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “In those situations, you kind of want to throw a pitch to get that double play and for me, I mean, I think it was kind of a perfect pitch to get that ball to roll over to hit that double play. But he was able to make that really good swing and get out of it.”

Castillo pitched well outside of those two pitches and exited the game after six innings, having allowed three hits over six innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. Unfortunately for the veteran right-hander, Mayer sent the first of those hits 379 feet into the right-field seats, and Story hit the third 402 feet to left-center field.

Castillo, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his past six starts, struck out his 1,400th career batter in the second inning.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a perfect seventh after coming on in relief for Crochet, who has allowed more than two earned runs in just two of his 16 starts this season.

Hard-throwing veteran lefty Aroldis Chapman pitched the eighth inning for Boston, and Greg Weissert pitched the ninth inning for his third save of the season.

Crochet’s eight strikeouts over six innings gives him an MLB-high 125 in 102⅓ innings pitched this season. He has thrown six innings or more in 11 starts, and has eight or more strikeouts in six of his past eight games.

For Boston, it was manager Alex Cora’s 560th career win, tying him for third in Red Sox franchise history with Pinky Higgins.

The Mariners’ bullpen retired all nine hitters it faced.

Carlos Vargas pitched a scoreless seventh inning, lefty Gabe Speier pitched a perfect eighth and Eduard Bazardo retired the Red Sox in order in the ninth.

The Mariners are off Thursday before beginning a three-game series with the Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field in Chicago.