Wilyer Abreu finished a 12-pitch at-bat with an RBI single, and Masataka Yoshida followed with a two-run homer as the Boston Red Sox scored seven runs in the third inning, leading to a 14-7 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
Yoshida also had a double among his three hits and drove in four runs. Abreu had two RBIs for Boston, which had lost seven of its last nine games since the All-Star break.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora pointed out that Jarren Duran’s effort to beat out a possible double-play grounder was crucial before Abreu’s at-bat.
“That changed the game, then Abreu puts on that at-bat,” Cora said. “He beat him with the fastball his first at-bat. He went to the fastball a lot in that one, and Wily just stayed on him. … That was an awesome at-bat.”
Dominic Smith contributed with a solo homer and two RBIs, Romy Gonzalez hit a pinch-hit two-run shot, and the Red Sox had a season-high eight doubles.
Nick Pivetta (5-7) struck out 10 and gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh each hit solo homers for the Mariners, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (6-7) allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old right-hander had previously kept opponents to one or no earned runs in 11 of his last 21 starts. His game quickly fell apart with two outs in the third inning against Boston.
After a wild pitch allowed Connor Wong to score the first run, Abreu was down 0-2 but worked the count full. He fouled off five straight pitches before hitting a ground single to right, making the score 2-0.
Abreu shouted into the Red Sox dugout as he ran to first base.
“I can’t really remember a time,” Abreu said through a translator when asked if he was ever that fired up on a single. “It felt really good to win that battle.”
Gilbert believed he had struck Abreu out on the fifth pitch, which was called a ball.
