The slump seems to be all across the board, as catcher Jason Varitek has gone 0-for-13 on the long and winding road, and first baseman Kevin Youkilis was 0-for-11 before going down with a hand injury during the first game of the series against the Mariners.

Dustin Pedroia (3-for-23), Mike Lowell (4-for-21), Jacoby Ellsbury (3-for-20) and J.D. Drew (4-for-18) all also seem to have contracted a bad case of the road blues at the same time.

"Being on the road and being away from your families is always tough, but you've got to play the schedule that you're given," Varitek said. "If we focus on getting good pitching and getting the bats going and taking care of the things that are in our control, then we'll be OK."

Boston will enjoy a merciful off day Thursday as it shrugs off the adverse effects following the coast-to-coast flight from Seattle to Baltimore. The team will then take on an AL East foe, the Orioles, who swept the Red Sox in an abbreviated two-game series at Camden Yards earlier this month.

MARINERS 1, RED SOX 0: Tim Wakefield pitched eight strong innings of one-run ball, but he was undone by his only blemish of the evening -- a flat knuckler that Seattle shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt crushed for a solo homer in the third inning. Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell combined for the only two hits mustered by the Sox during their fifth loss in six games to start their 10-game road trip.