M's misery continues with seventh straight loss

As Dave Niehaus once said at the proudest point in Mariners franchise history, it just continues.

But right now, the nonstop onslaught the M's are experiencing is not glory, as it was in 1995. It is nothing but agony, misery and, for the seventh straight game, defeat.

The Red Sox, supported by a large contingent of fans that turned Safeco Field into a choppy sea of red among the 35,818 in attendance, extended the Mariners' skid with a 5-3 win.

Undoing what had been a stellar start by Felix Hernandez, the Red Sox erupted for four runs in the eighth inning — all with two outs — to break a 1-1 tie.

The Mariners, meanwhile, struggled offensively yet again against their old Angels adversary, Bartolo Colon, who is being successfully resurrected by the Red Sox. He limited Seattle to five hits and one run in seven innings to move to 2-0 in two starts.

The Mariners — who lost for the 20th time in their past 25 games — had three standout defensive plays, including an all-world catch by a wall-crashing Ichiro that he said was inspired by criticism from Sunday's game in New York.

They also made their now-patented too-little, too-late rally with two runs in the ninth. But it was small consolation as they fell a mind-boggling 16 games under .500.

"There was some encouragement, but we're just looking for a win," said Mariners manager John McLaren. "Moral victories — that's not what we're looking for."

Hernandez, now 2-5 in what the Mariners hoped would be a breakout season, took a two-hitter into the eighth — one of them a home run by David Ortiz. But then it all unraveled.

Sean Casey started it with a leadoff single, and by the time Ryan Rowland-Smith was summoned to bail out Hernandez, the Red Sox had batted around with five hits and two walks.

"I thought Felix pitched a hell of a game," said McLaren, who left Hernandez in to face nine batters in the eighth. "He had some bad luck in the eighth. He deserved better than that. That was probably the best stuff he's had all year."

Asked what happened in the eighth, Hernandez said: "A lot of hits, a lot of runs — that's what happened."

Hernandez was on the verge of working out of the jam when he got Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out for the second out of the inning. But Dustin Pedroia launched a ground-rule double to left to put the Red Sox up 2-1, and the barrage was about to begin.

Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell added RBI singles, and Jason Varitek walked with the bases loaded for the final run of the inning.

"I'm not frustrated at all," Hernandez said. "I've just got to find a way to win some games, that's all."

That goes for the entire team, which fell 12 ½ games behind the AL West-leading Angels. One small consolation came in the fifth, when Ichiro had perhaps the defensive play of the season, a catch that was equal parts Ken Griffey Jr. and Willie Mays.

With J. D. Drew at first base and one out, Varitek hit a smash to center. Ichiro raced back and, with his back to the plate, hauled in the ball on the warning track just as he crashed into the wall at full speed. So much for Ichiro's reputation as one reluctant to run into walls.

"That was as good a catch as I've seen Ichiro have," McLaren said.

Ichiro appeared dazed, but he held onto the ball and had the presence of mind to sidearm it back to the infield. He stayed in the game, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd that was repeated when the inning ended without a Boston score.

"[Sunday], for some reason, some people thought I should have caught a ball [hit by the Yankees' Jose Molina in the eighth inning]," Ichiro said. "That really ticked me off. I said to myself I was going for the ball no matter what, even if I'm injured on the play.

"I had a lot of stress piled up from yesterday. Because of that, I don't remember much about what happened. I just thought to let my body go."

Asked who the criticism came from, Ichiro said, "I don't think it's necessary to answer."

Ichiro was dazed, but not hurt ("I'm alive," was his assessment), and even had the presence of mind to adjust his cap as he bounced off the wall.

"When I went down, my hat was over my eyes and I couldn't see," he said. "I lifted my hat up, so in that moment, I was pretty calm and collected."

Hernandez, who has been battling a sore right calf, was brilliant early, retiring the first 11 Red Sox batters. It was reminiscent of last year's April gem at Fenway Park, when he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a one-hitter.

That time, it was Drew's single leading off the eighth that ended the no-hit bid. This time, the no-hit breakup was more costly, as Ortiz smashed a 1-0 pitch over the fence in dead-center with two outs in the fourth to stake Boston to a 1-0 lead.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com