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Red Sox sink Mariners in ninth

May 2, 2011 - 12:11 AM Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Carl Crawford hit a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Boston Red Sox over the Seattle Mariners, 3-2, to salvage a three-game series.

Crawford smacked a 1-1 pitch under the glove of Mariners reliever Jamey Wright and into center field, scoring Jed Lowrie from third base to save the Red Sox from being swept.

"Everything I hit, it seems like it's an out. So to see [the ball] get through felt good," said Crawford, who is batting just .168 in his first season with Boston after signing a lucrative contract in the offseason.

Lowrie had tripled with one out against Wright (0-1), who pitched the last two innings for Seattle starter Felix Hernandez. Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins initially saved a run when he fielded Marco Scutaro's grounder in the hole on a tricky hop despite nearly colliding with shortstop Luis Rodriguez, but Crawford won the game two pitches later.

The Mariners, trying to sweep a three-game series in Boston for the first time ever, had a five-game winning streak snapped. They didn't get much going against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and scored their only two runs when reliever Bobby Jenks walked two batters with the bases loaded in the sixth.

Wakefield, 44, made his first start of the season after seven relief appearances, taking the place of sick pitcher Clay Buchholz. He gave up just three hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings, striking out three.

"Wakefield was really good today. I don't know how many first-pitch strikes he had, but it seemed like a ton," said Seattle manager Eric Wedge. "He was working ahead all day and had [the ball] dancing out there."

He retired the first two batters in the sixth but was pulled after giving up a single to Ryan Langerhans, who scored after Jenks came in and couldn't throw strikes.

"He knew he was on a little bit of a short leash," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Wakefield. "Part of the reason (I pulled him) was I didn't want him to lose the game. He didn't deserve to lose that game."

Miguel Olivo followed with a base hit off Jenks and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Jenks then walked Justin Smoak, Jack Cust and Rodriguez, letting Seattle tie the game at 2-2.

Matt Albers and Jonathan Papelbon were better for the Red Sox, throwing three perfect innings to keep Seattle off the board again. Papelbon (1-0) pitched the ninth to earn the win.

Hernandez struck out 10 batters in seven innings, giving up two runs, six hits and a walk.

Facing Hernandez with one out in the third inning, David Ortiz slammed a two- run double high off the Green Monster in left field to score Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia after they had led off with back-to-back singles.

Boston's 2-0 lead stood up until the sixth, when the Mariners finally put together their two-run rally after moving just one runner past second base in the previous five innings.

Game Notes

The Red Sox improved to 10-5 since starting the season 2-10...Wakefield is the oldest active player in the majors...The Mariners had a six-game road winning streak snapped and finished 5-1 on a current six-game trek. They were trying to secure their first perfect road trip since a 10-0 jaunt from April 8-17, 2002.