Seattle, WA – Ryan Kalish scored the go-ahead run on David Ortiz's sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning, and the Boston Red Sox gained a four-game split with the Seattle Mariners by posting a 2-1 victory in Sunday's series finale at Safeco Field.
Trailing 1-0 since the third inning, Boston tied the game in the eighth on Dustin Pedroia's first home run since May 10, a one-out blast to left field off Seattle starter Jason Vargas.
After the Mariners, who beat the Red Sox twice in walk-off fashion in this series, stranded the winning run at second base in the ninth, Kalish, a pinch- hitter, ripped a one-out double off the right-field wall in the 10th.
Pedroia then singled off Brandon League (0-5) before he was replaced by southpaw Lucas Luetge. Brought in to face the left-handed swinging Ortiz, Luetge fell behind 2-0 in the count before Ortiz lofted a fly ball to deep right field, enabling Kalish to trot home for a 2-1 Boston lead.
"Real nice. That's what it was all about: [Pedroia] solving the Vargas mystery with the home run, getting us tied and then the base hit in the 10th," said Boston manager Bobby Valentine.
Alfredo Aceves picked up his 19th save of the season with a five-pitch 1-2-3 10th. Vicente Padilla (2-0) earned the win after working out of trouble in the ninth.
Boston starter Felix Doubront allowed one run on three hits and walked five in 4 1/3 innings.
Vargas hurled eight strong innings, with Pedroia's homer one of five hits given up the left-hander. Third baseman Kyle Seager made a diving catch, snagging a line drive off the bat of Nick Punto, to help Vargas escape a bases-loaded jam in the second.
"Vargas pitched a great ball game and when you got a chance to take three out of four against a pretty good ball club, you've got to finish those games off and we most definitely did not today," said Seattle manager Eric Wedge.
The Mariners got on the board in the third. Chone Figgins and Brendan Ryan hit back-to-back singles to open the inning, placing men on the corners after Figgins stole second. Ichiro Suzuki followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Seattle loaded the bases with one out two innings later, but Matt Albers got Jesus Montero to ground into a 5-3 double play.
Game Notes
Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks left the game in the ninth with left hamstring tightness...Ortiz was elected by the fans as the starting designated hitter for the American League in the 2012 All-Star Game. Seattle right-hander Felix Hernandez also was named to the AL roster....Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez went 1-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games...The Mariners placed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a right elbow flexor strain, selected the contract of pitcher Josh Kinney from Triple-A Tacoma and designated catcher Adam Moore for assignment.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.