Halama, making his sixth start of the season, pitched eight strong innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run. When I'm pitching against him, I'm not going to admire him. There was no resentment in Halama's voice with those words. He accomplished his goal of keeping the Mariners close throughout, holding the American League East Division co-leaders scoreless for five innings. Those first five innings, in the opener of Boston's only series in Seattle this season, were a duel.
Great pitchers do that.
Halama, by comparison, was even better. The left-hander struck out five, and kept the Red Sox off balance by changing speeds and getting ahead in counts. In five innings, no Boston hitter advanced past first base. Halama's control, one of his strengths, helped him avoid walks, and for a span that stretched over parts of four innings, he retired 13 straight batters. But the Red Sox rattled Halama for three hits in the sixth, the third a two-out line single to left field by Manny Ramirez to bring in the game's first run.