Here are the Talking Points for the Boston Red Sox' 10-8 extra inning loss to the Seattle Mariners.
BATTER OF THE GAME: Franklin Gutierrez
It feels like forever ago now, but Gutierrez came through for two big - very big - hits on Sunday, smoking a home run to right-center field in the first inning to pad the Mariners' early lead, and hitting another home run in the 3rd inning with two men on to give them a 7-0 lead. Both homers came off Sox rookie Henry Owens. He was later removed from the game for Seth Smith, but did more than enough damage before that to make an impact.
STARTERS REPORT: It was a laboring day for Henry Owens. On one hand, he allowed seven runs on ten hits. On the other, he struck out 10 Mariners. But the damage was done early against him - three runs in the 1st inning and four more in the 3rd. Though he didn't allow any more runners to cross home plate after that, he still gave up multiple hits in the 4th and 5th innings before retiring the side in the 6th, his final inning of work.
Mariners starter Vidal Nuno could not last five innings despite being given a 7-0 lead. He was yanked in the 5th with one out and finished the day having allowed four runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
BIG PLAY: The first big play came in the bottom of the 9th when Travis Shaw singled to left field to score the game-tying run. With Ortiz rounding third and heading home for the winning run, M's left-fielder Seth Smith fired it home and nailed Ortiz at the plate. It took three innings, but the Mariners loaded the bases in the 12th inning for Mike Zunino, who singled in what would be the game-winning run.
WHAT I LIKED: Aside from the obvious - which is that the Sox came all the way back from seven runs - it was good to see Bogey Power today. Xander Bogaerts is already one of the smarter hitters in the game at the young age of 22. The one thing that's been missing from his game this season is power. Listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, there's still room for Bogaerts to get bigger (not Hanley Ramirez level big…) and add power to his arsenal. He showed that power on Sunday by crushing a ball completely over the Green Monster for his 4th dinger of the season. The home runs will come more often as his career progresses.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Henry Owens could have pitched a lot better. It's tough putting your team down early, and even tougher when you put them down 7-0. The Sox offense has been clicking on all cylinders lately, and they still fought back to make a game out of it, but the pitching just has to be better than it was on Sunday even if they are tearing the cover off the ball. Starting pitching was great on Friday and Saturday, but not so much by Owens on Sunday.
WHAT'S NEXT: Old friend Terry Francona and the Indians make a visit to Fenway Park beginning tomorrow and lasting three days. Matt Barnes (3-2, 5.64 ERA) will get the call-up to start for the Red Sox in this one, and he'll face Danny Salazar (10-6, 3.26 ERA).