Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is handed a trident after his second two-run home run against the Boston Red Sox, during the sixth inning Monday night in Boston. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
BOSTON — Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to homer from both sides of the plate at Fenway Park, and George Kirby pitched the Seattle Mariners past the Boston Red Sox 10-1 on Monday night.
Raleigh hit a pair of long two-run homers and Eugenio Suárez added a two-run shot of his own. Ty France had two doubles to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for Seattle, which has won 10 of 14.
Kirby (5-2) scattered eight hits over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out six and walked one, improving to 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA over his last seven starts.
After getting swept at home by St. Louis last weekend, the Red Sox lost for the sixth time in seven games following an eight-game winning streak.
Boston sent utility infielder Pablo Reyes to the mound for the ninth. His first pitch — a curveball — read 34 mph on the scoreboard. He gave up a run and two hits with two walks.
Mixing a fastball in the mid 90-mph range with a hard slider, Kirby held the Red Sox scoreless until Rafael Devers’ RBI double in the sixth.
Boston starter Tanner Houck breezed through the first four innings, allowing only Julio Rodríguez’s two-out double in the fourth before Raleigh homered left-handed in the fifth.
His drive off Houck (3-3) after Suárez’s leadoff single had an exit velocity of 109 mph, traveling a projected 438 feet into the right-field seats.
France opened the sixth with a double and went to third when right fielder Alex Verdugo’s throw sailed past second base into shallow left. He scored on Jarred Kelenic’s fielder’s choice before Raleigh sent Brennan Bernardino’s 91 mph sinker over the Green Monster and completely out of Fenway Park at a projected 434 feet, making it 5-0.
Houck gave up four runs in five innings.
NOTES: Reliever Ryan Brasier, a key part of Boston’s 2018 World Series championship bullpen, was designated for assignment.
The move was made to open a spot for left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez, who started the season on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain.
“I know a lot of people are crushing him and all that. I lot of people wanted to get rid of this guy in the offseason,” Manager Alex Cora said. “He struggled, but I’ll tell you what: He didn’t have a job in spring training in ’18. No guarantees that you’re going to make a minor league team. You make the team, pitch for a world series team and contribute.”
The 35-year-old Brasier pitched in nine games during the 2018 postseason with five holds with a 1.04 ERA. He was 0-3 with a 5.78 ERA over 62 1/3 innings last season and is 1-0 with a 7.29 ERA in 21 innings this year.
For Red Sox fans, Brasier might be most remembered for yelling: ‘Get in the box!” at then-Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez during Game 2 of the AL Division Series, when he thought the right-handed hitter was stalling. Brazier struck him out on the next pitch, a 97 mph fastball.
Boston owes Brasier $1,053,763 remaining in a $1.4 million, one-year contract. The Red Sox signed Rodríguez to a $1.5 million, one-year contract with a club option for $4.25 million in 2024.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.