Red Sox send Dice-K to hill in finale with Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

07/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -The finale of a four-game series will take place this afternoon at Safeco Field when the Seattle Mariners take on the Boston Red Sox.

Heading to the mound this afternoon for Boston will be Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is looking for his third straight victory. The last time the hard-throwing right-hander was on the rubber he led the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over Oakland.

In the victory over the Athletics, Matsuzaka surrendered just one run on two hits in 6 2/3 innings of duty. The veteran hurler walked just two batters and struck out six. It was the eighth time in the last nine starts that Matsuzaka allowed no more than three runs in a contest.

In eight starts outside of Fenway Park Matsuzaka has claimed a 4-1 ledger, but he has not been overly impressive, posting just a 4.13 earned run average.

This will be the seventh career start for Matsuzaka against Seattle, and in the previous six outings he has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.99 earned run average.

The Mariners will hand the ball to Doug Fister, who will be looking for his first victory since May 14th when he led Seattle to a win over Tampa Bay. Since then the right-hander has gone 0-5 in his last eight starts and that includes a loss to Chicago in his last outing.

In that matchup against the White Sox, Fister did an admirable job, allowing just three runs in six innings, while collecting six strike outs, but a lack of run support doomed the pitcher.

Fister, who will be facing the Red Sox for the first time in his career, has pitched extremely well at home, but his 2-3 record at Safeco Field does not do his performance justice. In nine starts in front of the home crowd Fister has an impressive 2.51 earned run average, allowing just 19 runs in 64 2/3 innings.

Last night, Michael Saunders homered in the sixth inning after Eric Patterson's missed catch ruined a perfect game bid for Boston starter Jon Lester, and the Mariners went on to take a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox.

Lester (11-5) dominated the Mariners, striking out nine through the first five perfect innings. He showed no signs of slowing down after striking out Josh Bard to begin the sixth, but the game quickly went downhill.

Jack Wilson lofted a ball to shallow center field and Patterson ran to get under it, but the ball bounced off the top of his glove and fell to the ground. Saunders followed by ripping a home run to right.

Lester went on to take the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and one walk in 7 2/3 innings. He also struck out a season-high 13.

Saunders finished with two hits for the Mariners, who had lost the first two in this four-game series. Friday's loss was marred by a skirmish in the team's dugout in the fifth inning, as tempers flared after second baseman Chone Figgins was pulled from the game after an apparent lack of effort.

However, Figgins was back in the lineup Saturday and hit an RBI double.

While Lester was dominant early on, Mariners starter David Pauley was effective in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and allowed five hits, one of which was a fourth-inning home run by David Ortiz.

Chris Seddon (1-0) recorded the final out of the sixth and took the win after Saunders' home run put Seattle on top for good.

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