Kimbrel ‘sharpest he’s looked all year’ in win

SEATTLE — With yet another tight game unfolding in what has been a tense road trip for the Red Sox, manager John Farrell wasn’t in the mood to take any chances on Thursday night at Safeco Field.

There were two on and two outs in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, and the ever-dangerous Robinson Cano was at the plate.

This isn’t the conventional way to use your closer on the road, but Farrell didn’t much care. He wanted a win, and he got one, with Kimbrel serving as perhaps the key figure in a 3-2 win over the Mariners in 11 innings.

“That might have been the sharpest he’s looked all year,” said Farrell, who enjoyed celebrating his 54th birthday with a win. “Just powerful stuff, curveball for strikes. Our bullpen did an outstanding job, and we found a way to manufacture a run late.”

First, Kimbrel induced Cano into a groundout on the second pitch to end the ninth. And in the 10th, the closer was overpowering, striking out three straight batters (Nelson Cruz, Adam Lind and Kyle Seager) on 12 pitches.

“It felt good. My fastball had some good life to it, my breaking ball was sharp,” said Kimbrel. “I was able to throw it for strikes. I feel like anytime I can get it over for a strike or just show one or two I can throw for strikes, I can get guys swinging a little bit. That’s what happened tonight.”

With their offense in a slump, the …

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