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Instant reactions as the Red Sox (30-43) beat the Mariners, 6-2, with lefty Ranger Suarez (briefly) flirting with a no-hitter in Seattle:
1) A dominant Suarez was the story in an all-around solid Red Sox win. He had a no-hitter going for 6 ⅓ innings until Josh Naylor smoked a line-drive double to end his bid at history. The effort was the deepest-ever no-hit bid for Suarez, who took one into the sixth inning on April 27 in Toronto (his last win before Friday).
The lefty allowed just one baserunner in the first six innings of his outing (he walked Cal Raleigh in the fourth) and needed only 76 pitches to get his first 18 outs. Seattle started having better at-bats in the seventh when Suarez walked two and allowed the Naylor double.
In total, Suarez lasted 6 ⅔ frames, allowing just the one hit (and three walks) while striking out five. He threw 94 pitches, his third-highest total of the season, and got 10 swings-and-misses.
Naylor had the only Mariners hit of the night until slugger Julio Rodríguez ended Boston’s shutout bid with a two-run homer off Tommy Kahnle in the ninth inning.
2)Marcelo Mayer wasn’t in the original lineup because he’s dealing with a minor illness and did not fly west until Friday morning, separate of the team charter which left after Thursday’s game. He got the start once Isiah Kiner-Falefa (forearm) was scratched and delivered a great all-around game in which he didn’t look sick at all.
Mayer went 2-for-4 and posted the first three-RBI game of his major league career. The shortstop hit a two-run single as part of a four-run Red Sox seventh against Luis Castillo, then added an opposite-field RBI double to add an insurance run in the ninth.
Mayer was also superb defensively, especially in the eighth inning when he made a leaping catch up the middle and corralled a slow roller in impressive fashion.
3) The victory prevented the Red Sox from tying their longest losing streak of the season. Boston dropped five in a row in the opening week of the year but had not matched that total since. They now have 30 wins — a mark the club reached on June 6 of last season en route to an 89-win campaign.
4) It looked, for a moment, like interim manager Chad Tracy would have to make some tough decisions if Suarez’s no-hit bid lived longer. The southpaw was at 83 pitches when Naylor stepped to the plate in the seventh and was still eight outs short at that point.
Considering Suarez has thrown more than 93 pitches just twice all year — and maxed out at 105 in that April 27 start — it was going to be a tough call to let him keep going in a bid at history. Naylor’s double eliminated that degree of difficulty from Tracy’s night, though the manager lifted Suarez a few pitches later when he walked Cole Young to load the bases.
5) Another big swing from Caleb Durbin opened the scoring for the Red Sox, who went ahead 1-0 when the third baseman took Bryce Miller deep in the second inning with his fourth homer in seven games.
Durbin jumped all over a first-pitch fastball from Miller, who was otherwise dominant, and hit it 367 feet with an exit velocity of 100.5 mph. The third baseman homered in back-to-back at-bats, more than 24 hours — and 3,000 miles — apart.
Durbin paced the Red Sox with three hits, adding a single and double later in the game.
6) Durbin’s blast was the only damage the Red Sox did off Miller, who was lifted after five innings (and just 66 pitches) because the Mariners have been employing a piggyback system with him and Luis Castillo. Miller allowed three hits, struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone before turning things over to the veteran Castillo in the sixth.
Things got away from Castillo in the seventh as the Red Sox held a hit parade to blow the game open. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a leadoff double then scored on a passed ball before Willson Contreras, Jarren Duran, Durbin and Mayer hit four straight singles to make it 4-0. Durbin then scored on a Carlos Narváez sacrifice fly that made it 5-0.
7) The biggest pitch of the game for the Red Sox didn’t come from Suarez, but instead from reliever Justin Slaten, who took over in the seventh. With the bases loaded in a 5-0 game, J.P. Crawford worked a full count but Slaten struck him out swinging on a cutter that landed on the outside edge. A walk in that spot would have brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Colt Emerson.
8) After struggling to cash in during their four-game homestand, the Red Sox went 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position Friday and left just one man on base. There weren’t many opportunities but the club took advantage of the ones they did have.
9) Narváez helped Suarez out with a series of successful ABS (automatic ball-strike) challenges. Narváez struggled with challenges early this season but was 3-for-3 in getting calls overturned Friday, getting balls turned into strikes in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
10) The struggles of old friend Rob Refsnyder continued. The ex-Red Sox outfielder entered Friday having hit a putrid .063 (3-for-48) with 16 strikeouts in 24 home games for the Mariners, who signed him to a one-year deal over the winter. That line got even uglier as the career lefty-masher went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
11)Suarez’s All-Star candidacy took a step forward with his outing. He now has a 2.93 ERA in 76 ⅔ innings so far in 2026.
12) Boston’s parade of lefty starters will continue Saturday night as lefty Connelly Early (5-5, 3.81 ERA) tries to right the ship after a poor three-outing start to June. The Mariners will send tough righty Emerson Hancock (5-3, 3.28 ERA) to the mound.
First pitch is at 10:10 p.m. ET.
More Red Sox coverage
- Red Sox ‘collecting info’ on new Romy Gonzalez injury after infielder suffers rehab setback
- Red Sox trade addition strikes out 7 consecutive batters; Teenage catcher homers twice
- How Red Sox’ Brayan Bello fared in second Triple-A start after demotion
- Red Sox scratch veteran shortstop 35 minutes before first pitch; Marcelo Mayer (illness) will play
- Marcelo Mayer a late add to Red Sox lineup again Friday; Carlos Narváez catching in Seattle
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