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Saturday, May 17, 2014

So Far This Season: The Tigers are Good & The Red Sox Are Not, It's As Simple As That

To start their biggest series so far in 2014, the Red Sox might as well have stayed home (at least they would have stayed dry) as they were blanked 1-0 by the Tigers tonight at rainy Fenway Park. In a rematch of the 2013 ALCS, soon-to-be free agent ace Max Scherzer (6-1; 6 innings, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts, 4 walks) was a little better than soon-to-be free agent ace Jon Lester (4-5; 5 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks) as Boston (20-21 overall, 10-12 home) fell back below .500 while Detroit (25-12 overall, 12-4 away) keeps setting the pace in the AL in terms of best winning percentage.

There was a 47-minute rain delay in the top of the fourth with the Tigers up 1-0 but as you can tell, it didn't disrupt either pitcher that much since they both returned to the mound when they game restarted. Scherzer threw 106 pitches and Lester was yanked after 94. The only run in the game was in the first as ageless Torii Hunter (2 for 4) singled in Ian Kinsler.

Boston had no extra base hits and they were limited to just five hits overall. They were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. You know that things are really going well for Detroit since former Yankees overhyped bum Joba Chamberlain pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the hold. This might be a slight exaggeration but I don't think Joba ever had a 1-2-3 inning while he was with New York vs. Boston, at least not in his last few forgettable years.

Detroit closer Joe Nathan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout for his 11th save of the season. Boston will try to bounce back and get to .500 again tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as John Lackey (5-2) faces Rick Porcello (6-1) who finally seems to have figured things out.






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