SEATTLE -- Between Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright and Mariners junkballer Wade LeBlanc, there wasn't a whole lot of heat at Safeco Field on Saturday, despite mid-70s temperatures on a nice Pacific Northwest evening.
But the soft-tossing LeBlanc and his mid-80s fastball proved just a little more befuddling than the dancing array of 70-80 mph knucklers from Wright as the Mariners edged the Red Sox, 1-0, to take a 2-1 series lead in the four-game set.
After a leadoff single by American League batting leader Mookie Betts, LeBlanc retired 22 straight Red Sox as he cruised through a season-high 7 2/3 innings before giving up a base hit to Eduardo Nunez.