The least thing that the Boston Red Sox were worried about on Tuesday night was their loss to the lowly Seattle Mariners. Japanese phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka had his bid for a 9-0 start to the season cut short in the 5th inning, when he was pulled after tossing a few warm-up pitches. The official report was shoulder fatigue, but Matsuzaka appeared to be holding his lower back as he left the field. With Curt Schilling slowly making a return from his own shoulder injury and Josh Beckett only recently returned to the lineup, the last thing the Sox need is to lose the pitcher tied for the AL lead in wins.

The Red Sox bats were surprisingly quiet Tuesday, with all three Sox runs coming in the 6th, as Manny Ramirez finally hit his 499th HR. The Mariners got the game winning run in the bottom of the 9th with two outs when Jose Lopez hit an RBI single off Mike Timlin. Wladimir Balentien, who had reached on an infield single and been advanced by a sac bunt and a groundout, scored from 3rd to help the M’s break a 7 game losing streak. It was Seattle’s 6th win in 26 games.

Notes: Terry Francona and Julio Lugo were ejected in the 5th for arguing a check-swing that was a called a strike. Matsuzaka’s record remains at 8-0 as Mike Timlin took the loss.

Len robinson
Sports Pundit member

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