Today’s game was wonky. There wasn’t a lopsided score, or any insane errors, or Crochet giving up a grand slam to Big Dumper like Buehler did. The Red Sox won…on three hits. A Marcelo Mayer solo shot, a Trevor Story two-run blast (the second run due to a Marcelo Mayer walk), and a Connor Wong single (Connor Wong!?) were all the offense put up today. But it was enough to win the game, as Crochet held the Mariners to one run and the bullpen didn’t allow any more damage through their three innings of work. It’s the Red Sox’s fourth series win in a row, and it puts the team up 2 games over .500. The vibes are both very different and eerily the same as they were a month ago. You’ve got a winning ball club now, but you’re without Devers, so the fanbase remains unhappy. Still, you always take the wins when and where you can get them.

Five Studs (Again):

Garrett Crochet: Oinked up the joint and shoved again. His box score today was 6 IP, 6 hits, 1 run (which was earned), no walks, and 8 strikeouts. That one run was his own doing, on a wild pitch that brought Randy Arozarena home from third; it easily could’ve been another scoreless performance otherwise. I’m happy that he frequently pitches on Wednesdays now so I can keep adding him to my Stud List.

Marcelo Mayer: Contributed one of the Sox’s 3 runs with his fourth home run of the season.

Trevor Story: Got the go-ahead runs with a 2-run homer on a beautiful swing.

The bullpen: Whitlock, Weissert, and Chapman did exactly what they needed to do and kept the Mariners at one run. They are, without a doubt, our three best bullpen arms right now. It was interesting to see Chapman come out in the eighth against the top of the order, when we all know him as the Shutdown Guy, but Weissert closed out the game without incident.

The defense: No errors today or all series! Great stuff!

One Big Giant Enormous Glaring Problematic Dud:

The offense: Three hits is not sustainable. Three runs usually isn’t sustainable either. Getting shut out yesterday was bad, too. Yes, it’s the Mariners’ pitching and they are known and renowned for being very good, but people still need to hit, or at least get on base. Duran and Campbell have been especially cold, and Narvaez has cooled down too. Rafaela also needs to get hot, and aside from his home run in Game 1 of the series, Anthony would really benefit from warming up too. You can’t rely on two guys to do the job every night. You could today, but only because your ace was on the mound. The Giants series will be a tough watch if the Sox bats can’t get going, especially when the Best Overall Offensive Bat that was Devers is gonna be playing against us.

Play of the Game: Trevor Story’s Go-Ahead Homer

This secured us the win. Trevor Story’s not always in peak form, but when he is or he’s close to it, he’s fantastic. It’s kind of ironic that he’s the one hitting and almost nobody else is, when usually it’s the other way around.