Ranger Suarez flirts with no-hitter as Red Sox batter Mariners late, break four-game losing streak in Seattle

SEATTLE — Ranger Suarez’s chance at history Friday night started to feel real in the bottom of the seventh inning, on the 19th out of the requisite 27, when Ceddanne Rafaela raced in from deep center field to make a sliding catch of Julio Rodríguez’s bloop, practically plucking the baseball off the grass.

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One pitch later, it was over. Josh Naylor lined a clean double to right-center, the Mariners’ first hit of the night. Suarez would not throw a no-hitter — a reality he acknowledged with a downcast wave of his left hand as Naylor reached second base. Oh well.

The Red Sox settled for a 6-2 win over Seattle, snapping a four-game losing streak, and Suarez settled for an excellent outing: 6⅔ innings, no runs, and just that one hit.

He sandwiched Naylor’s knock between a pair of walks, gifting the Mariners a two-out, bases-loaded opportunity and with it a chance to get back in the game. Instead of risking Suarez melting down, as he sometimes does with no warning amid dominance, interim manager Chad Tracy called on Justin Slaten.

Slaten struck out J.P. Crawford to keep the Sox in control.

The Mariners’ unorthodox approach to pitcher management, meanwhile, completely backfired when the Red Sox opened up the game with a four-run rally against reliever-for-a-day Luis Castillo in the seventh inning.

WIth six starting pitchers for five spots in the rotation, Seattle (39-38) has opted for occasional piggyback starts, using two of their top arms in the same game.

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Initially, it worked. Righthander Bryce Miller held the Sox to one run — on Caleb Durbin’s homer in the second — in five innings. He struck out seven, walked none, and scattered two other hits.

After Durbin’s long ball, Miller faced the minimum number of batters the rest of his outing. He was cruising. But the plan was the plan, and the Mariners manager Dan Wilson stuck to it.

So for the sixth, Castillo entered. In the seventh, he fell apart. 

Rafaela led off with a double and moved to third on Wilyer Abreu’s line out. With Willson Contreras at the plate, a wild pitch — in the other batter’s box, off the heel of catcher Cal Raleigh’s glove — allowed Rafaela to scoot home.

Contreras, Jarren Duran, and Durbin singled to load the bases. Marcelo Mayer’s grounder through the right side of the infield, good for another single, brought in two more runs — the latter, Duran, reaching the plate safely when right fielder Dominic Canzone’s throw was well wide for an error.

Carlos Narváez’s sacrifice fly added another.

Durbin finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored. He has four home runs in his past seven games.

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Mayer had two hits, including a double, and three RBIs.