Boston (53-52, 27-29 home) weren't able to complete the three-game sweep of Detroit (55-50, 27-29) as the Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth tonight vs. Cook and held on for a 7-5 win at Fenway Park. It also snapped the Red Sox' four-game win streak.
Cook doesn't walk anybody (4 walks all season) but he also doesn't strike anybody out (4) which means he's pitching to contact. Lately, he's been leaving fastballs and hanging curveballs up in the zone, leading to many home runs. The game got out of reach when Miguel Cabrera (2 hits) hit a two-run homer (26th of the season) over everything in left in the fifth which was followed by Prince Fielder's (2 hits) solo homer to center (17th of the season), making it 6-1 Detroit.
In 4.2 innings, Cook allowed six earned runs on nine hits. Rick Porcello (8-6) usually struggles against the Red Sox and he wasn't great this evening (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) but he handed it over to a nearly flawless bullpen.
Phil Coke allowed a solo homer to Carl Crawford (2nd of the season) in the seventh to make it 6-5 Detroit but Octavio Dotel (1 inning, 1 strikeout), Joaquin Benoit (1 inning, 1 strikeout) and Jose Valverde (1 inning, 2 strikeouts; 21st save) combined for three perfect innings.
Cody Ross (2 hits) gave Boston a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first. Brennan Boesch tied it with an RBI single in the fourth then the Tigers scored five runs in the fifth. Austin Jackson added an RBI single and a run scored on Quintin Berry's ground out before the long balls from Cabrera and Fielder.
The Red Sox showed signs of life with three runs in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded into a double play but a run scored. Pedro Ciriaco and Will Middlebrooks kept the inning alive with RBI singles.
In the eighth, Delmon Young's (2 hits) homer to right (12th of the season), that wrapped around Pesky's pole proved to be a valuable insurance run.
Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a run and walk in the loss. Craig Breslow made his first appearance back with the Red Sox (he played with them briefly in 2006) as he was the first guy out of the bullpen. He went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.
The schedule does the Red Sox a huge favor as the terrible Minnesota Twins (44-60, AL Central) come to Fenway this weekend and they will meet four times. I would normally say that they have to take at least three but we all know that the middling Red Sox will probably win twice.
Jon Lester (5-8) faces rookie Samuel Deduno (2-0) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) to open the series. Felix Doubront (10-5) gets Brian Duensing (2-6) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Clay Buchholz (9-3) opposes rookie Cole De Vries (2-2) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Josh Beckett (5-9) meets Nick Blackburn (4-6) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). If Lester and Beckett can't beat the Twins, they might not win another game respectively in 2012.
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