SEATTLE — The Red Sox were no-hit by Oakland’s Sean Manaea on April 21. What Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc did against them Saturday was arguably more impressive.

LeBlanc allowed a single by Mookie Betts to start the game and didn’t put another runner on base until there were two outs in the eighth inning. He left the game to a loud ovation at that point with the Mariners on their way to a 1-0 victory.

LeBlanc never threw a pitch faster than 87.8 miles per hour. But he struck out nine without a walk and pitched at a quick tempo in a game that lasted only 2 hours 22 minutes.

In an era where velocity is prized, Red Sox hitters never figured out LeBlanc, who consistently got ahead in the count then used an assortment of offspeed and breaking pitches.

“He doesn’t have power stuff but made his stuff play,’’ Betts said.

With the Yankees winning, the Sox trail by one game in the American League East. They have lost two straight and have not scored in 14 consecutive innings.

Red Sox starter Steven Wright allowed one run on five hits over seven innings to take an undeserved loss. He struck out four with two walks.

Wright has allowed one run over 20⅔ innings in three starts since replacing Drew Pomeranz in the rotation.

“Everything you ask from a starter, he’s doing it,’’ manager Alex Cora said.

Seattle scored in the third inning on singles by Dee Gordon, Mitch Haniger, and Nelson Cruz. That ended a streak of 24⅔ consecutive scoreless innings by Wright, the longest for a Red Sox pitcher since Koji Uehara went 30⅓ innings in 2013.

After Cruz’s RBI single, Wright (2-1) allowed only one other hit. He didn’t pay too much attention to LeBlanc. He was focused on his own game.

“Obviously you have to tip your hat to him,’’ Wright said. “He did an unbelievable job.’’

Wright first faced LeBlanc when both were in college. LeBlanc was with Alabama when the Crimson Tide played a series at Hawaii.

“I’ve seen him pitch pretty much his whole career,’’ Wright said. “That’s his game, throw cutters and changeups.’’

LeBlanc is a 33-year-old who has been traded three times and played for eight organizations, not counting one in Japan. This is his second stint with Seattle.

An occasionally effective reliever with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, LeBlanc was released by the Yankees in spring training and signed with the Mariners on March 25, a few days before the season.

LeBlanc worked as a long reliever before joining the rotation on May 3 when Erasmo Ramirez went on the disabled list with a strained shoulder.

He has since made eight starts and had a 2.06 earned run average, playing a big role in Seattle bursting into contention in the American League West.

“We know what a quality team the Red Sox are,’’ LeBlanc said. “They have great players and a great lineup, so anytime you face them it’s a challenge.

“I think I just mixed my pitches well. I just had a good rhythm going and a good pace. My team did a great job behind me.’’

After Betts singled, Andrew Benintendi grounded into a double play. It was the first of 22 consecutive hitters retired by LeBlanc.

When Eduardo Nunez singled to right field, righthander Alex Colome replaced LeBlanc. The Sox used Mitch Moreland to hit for Blake Swihart and he popped out to third.

Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth inning for his 27th save. He struck out the side.

LeBlanc (3-0) struck out nine. He had not struck out that many since Sept. 23, 2011, when he struck out 10 Dodgers while a member of the Padres.

“We hit some balls hard but they were on the ground,’’ Benintendi said. “LeBlanc was hard to hit. Steven did a great job, too.’’

The Red Sox are 8-9 against lefthanded starters this season. Against all lefthanded pitchers, they are hitting .235 with a .297 OPS and .373 slugging percentage.

Is that a problem?

“It happens. That’s baseball,’’ Cora said. “[James] Paxton is one of the best lefties in the league and we scored six runs [on Friday]. LeBlanc has been throwing the ball well and we didn’t score.’’

Seattle is 23-10 in one-run games with all three games in the series being decided by one run. The finale is Sunday afternoon with Eduardo Rodriguez facing Mike Leake.

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @peteabe.