The Red Sox had a chance to finish off a sweep of the Mariners on Sunday, but missed opportunities throughout the afternoon led to a 3-1 defeat.
Boston handed the ball to rookie left-hander Payton Tolle, who turned in another solid performance despite taking the loss. Tolle allowed three runs on six hits over six innings while walking two and striking out two.
The left-hander came out firing, retiring the first four batters he faced on just seven pitches before Dominic Canzone’s two-out solo homer in the second inning gave Seattle an early 1-0 lead.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of Tolle. “Gave us six innings, pitch count was good. He attacked, so I thought he threw a pretty good outing.”
Tolle settled in but surrendered the deciding runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Cole Young delivered an RBI single to put Seattle back in front in the fifth before Canzone drove in another run on a fielder’s choice an inning later.
Boston’s lone offensive highlight came in the second inning when Nate Eaton launched a 409-foot solo homer into the second deck in left field. The blast left his bat at 103.2 mph and was just the third major league home run of his career.
Eaton drew the start after Tracy elected to give Wilyer Abreu a breather, with the outfielder having started 73 of the club’s first 74 games.
“The intent on this trip is to try to, whether it’s DH or an off day, to mix in a break for those guys, especially with this trip, going west and how rigorous that can be,” Tracy said before the series.
Seattle starter Logan Gilbert was outstanding, limiting Boston to one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight. He generated 18 swings and misses and threw 66 of his 94 pitches for strikes.
“It’s a tough task when he’s on the mound,” Tracy said of Gilbert on Sunday afternoon. “I thought you saw well-pitched games on both sides from starting pitching, which I think you kind of knew going into the series, there’s some pretty good arms going out there.”
The Mariners have now won each of Gilbert’s last six starts, during which he owns a 1.49 ERA and has held opposing hitters in check with dominant command and swing-and-miss stuff.
The Red Sox had opportunities but repeatedly failed to cash in. They put the leadoff man aboard in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but double plays and baserunning mistakes erased each threat. Eaton was doubled off second after misreading a line drive, while another rally ended on a pickoff.
Chad Tracy on the baserunning mistakes from Nate Eaton and Caleb Durbin. He also thought the story of the weekend was very good pitching. pic.twitter.com/291v0I1Ytn
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) June 21, 2026
Boston’s best chance came in the seventh when Caleb Durbin doubled to put two runners in scoring position, but pinch hitter Andruw Monasterio struck out to end the inning.
The Red Sox finished with just five hits and struck out 13 times after scoring 11 runs over the first two games of the series.
Durbin continued his strong stretch, collecting two hits and making one of the game’s best defensive plays in the fourth. With runners on first and second and one out, he fielded a slow roller while keeping his foot on third base before firing to second to complete an inning-ending double play. The Sox’ third baseman left Seattle with seven hits in the three-game series.
Massive double play from Caleb Durbin to help out Payton Tolle, who had just walked Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor back to back.
Durbin was in the 79th percentile for Outs Above Average entering this game. pic.twitter.com/KYCkyxrcI1
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) June 21, 2026
Rob Refsnyder, meanwhile, endured a
