Clay Buchholz pitches 7 innings as Boston Red Sox beat Seattle Mariners 5-1

Buchholz leads Red Sox past Mariners 5-1

SEATTLE — Clay Buchholz pitched seven solid innings, Victor Martinez hit a two-run double and the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game series sweep.

Buchholz (16-7) allowed one run — Russell Branyan’s first-inning homer — and four hits in his first victory since Aug. 22. The All-Star right-hander was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his previous three starts.

Buchholz did not allow a hit after Chone Figgins’ two-out single in the third. He lowered his ERA to 2.48, second in the American League.

David Pauley (2-8) tossed six strong innings for the Mariners, who have lost seven straight. The right-hander gave up two runs, one earned, and six hits.

Seattle had a chance to add to its 1-0 lead in the second, but the rally was stymied by Martinez. The Mariners put runners on second and third with no outs, but Martinez picked off Casey Kotchman at third with a nice snap throw from behind the plate.

After Michael Saunders walked, Buchholz got Adam Moore and Chris Woodward to ground out to end the inning.

Martinez also threw out Figgins trying to swipe second in the third inning, denying him his 40th stolen base.

Adrian Beltre hit his 28th homer in the fourth and the Red Sox grabbed the lead in the sixth, taking advantage of an error by second baseman Figgins. With two out and David Ortiz on third, Figgins let Yamaico Navarro’s grounder bounce through his legs untouched for an error.

Martinez added his two-run double in the seventh against Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Ryan Kalish tripled in Marco Scutaro in the eighth.

Scutaro had three hits and Kalish went 2 for 5 for Boston, which finished with 10 hits.

Kotchman went 1 for 3 against Buchholz, leaving him 6 for 9 in his career against the righty.

Beltre swung so hard on his two-out drive that he dropped to one knee and rested there momentarily to watch the ball sail into the second deck in left field. It traveled an estimated 391 feet.

NOTES: Mariners RHP Sean White hasn’t pitched in 12 days because of a sore right forearm. “We’ll let the doctors look at him and go from there. We don’t think it’s anything serious,” manager Daren Brown said. … Red Sox RF J. D. Drew missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle.