SEATTLE _ Seattle Mariners closer Steve Cishek had just entered from the bullpen, his intro music barely finished playing, when he gave up the home run.
Boston Red Sox fans, of which there were many at Safeco Field, roared. Some Mariners fans joined in with boos. Cishek stood on the mound in the middle of it all as Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts jogged around the bases, his solo home run in the ninth inning handing the Mariners a 2-1 loss to Boston on Monday night.
It wasn't the gut punch of Sunday's loss to the Chicago Cubs, but it had a similarly hollow feel.
A brilliant start from pitcher James Paxton was wasted. The Mariners' offense wasted two opportune scoring chances in the final three innings, including having the bases loaded with one out in the seventh inning. Plus, the Mariners (52-52) are chasing the Red Sox (58-46) in the wild-card race.
Paxton allowed only one run in eight innings, once again showing his immense potential. But it was one mistake near the end of his night that stood out.
Until the eighth inning, Paxton had given up only three hits all game, and only one runner had reached second base. He looked in total control.
But in the eighth, he surrendered a solo home run to Red Sox third baseman Aaron Hill, who entered the night hitting .175. Paxton turned to watch the ball, grimaced as it cleared the left-field wall and held his glove over his mouth so he could shout into it.
Any baseball player can tell you that the sport can be cruel, and Paxton had to feel a touch of that.
It hurt even more because of what the offense hadn't done the inning before.
The Mariners' first hit was in the fourth inning, and that stood as their only hit until the seventh inning.
In the seventh, Robinson Cano led off with a double and Nelson Cruz walked. Dae-Ho Lee broke through with a double that scored Cano, and Kyle Seager walked to load the bases with one out.
But the threat deflated quickly when Franklin Gutierrez and Chris Iannetta struck out, leaving the bases loaded.
That missed opportunity quickly became more painful just one inning later with Paxton on the mound.
Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. visited Paxton right after the tying home run to Hill, and Paxton quickly retired the next two batters he faced.
But Paxton looked frustrated as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation from many of the 29,601 people in attendance at Safeco Field.
The Mariners had a chance to retake the lead in the eighth inning. But Cruz struck out with runners on first and third and two outs to spoil another opportunity.
That brought Cishek into the game, and it was only a few minutes later that he gave up the winning home run.
