Tigers Dominate Game 4, 7-3, to even ALCS at Two Games Apiece

After three one-run games in a row, the 2013 ALCS was due for a blowout. Unfortunately, the Red Sox found themselves on the wrong side of that equation as they lost 7-3 to the Tigers in Game 4 this evening at Comerica Park. The all-important Game 5 is tomorrow night (8:07, Fox) back in Motown. This victory ensured that there will be another game(s) at Fenway in the series: Game 6 on Saturday afternoon (4:37, Fox).

The series is even at two now with Detroit's win which truthfully wasn't all that competitive. The Tigers went up 5-0 in the second inning and added two runs in the fourth before the Red Sox scored in baseball's equivalent of garbage time. Jake Peavy (0-1) just didn't have it in the biggest start of his MLB career although who knows how things would have gone if Dustin Pedroia had turned an inning-ending double play (that he usually makes in his sleep) when it was 1-0?

The two main takeaways from this are that Boston has to do something about the bottom of its batting order: Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and Will Middlebrooks struck out in both of his plate appearances. To plead his case on the field, rookie Xander Bogaerts had a pinch hit double in the ninth and scored a run. Manager John Farrell admitted after the game that Bogaerts could very well be in the lineup for Game 5. Please do that!

Also, the media will prepare a tongue bath for Tigers manager Jim Leyland after he changed his lineup: having Torii Hunter (double, run, 2 RBIs) bat leadoff and Austin Jackson (2 hits, 2 RBIs, walk, run, stolen base) move to eighth couldn't have possibly worked out any better.

Doug Fister (6 innings, 1 earned run, 8 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk) wasn't as sharp as his numbers suggest but he was helped out by a Red Sox offense that went 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. Boston had 12 hits including five extra base hits but they left 10 men on base.

One of the main positives for the Red Sox to take out of his mostly lifeless loss is that Jacoby Ellsbury (4 for 5, double, run, RBI), Mike Napoli (2 for 4, double, run) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 for 4, RBI) all broke out of their respective slumps at the plate. And yes, I remember Napoli's home run in Game 3.

Detroit's first two runs came on Jackson's bases loaded walk and a fielder's choice. Hunter's two-run double and Miguel Cabrera's RBI single (2 hits) made it 5-0. When Jackson's infield single scored another run and Cabrera added his second RBI single in the fourth for a 7-0 lead, you knew the Red Sox were done given their struggles at the plate by and large in this series.

Boston did show plenty of pride (no surprise there) with Salty's RBI single in the sixth, Shane Victorino's RBI double in the seventh and Ellsbury's RBI triple in the ninth. Leyland threw his embattled closer Joaquin Benoit out there in the ninth and he had to throw 21 pitches before retiring David Ortiz (irony) on a fly ball to right for the third out. Benoit should be tired or at least shaky if he gets used in Game 5 (ala Game 2).

Game 5 is a rematch of Game 2 as Jon Lester (0-1) faces Anibal Sanchez (1-0). As far as I'm concerned, it's easily the biggest game of the season thus far for the Red Sox. Going up 3-2 and heading home would be a great scenario to find themselves in. Either way, at this time tomorrow one of these teams will be one out away from advancing to the World Series.

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It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like October At Fenway Park

In hindsight, it's easy to admit that for a brief period in the last decade we started to take playoff baseball for granted. The Red Sox were in the mix every season so actually getting there wasn't all that exciting (same deal with the Patriots, still). Well it's been four years since Boston has competed in the postseason and five years since they actually won a game. This is a long way of saying that tonight's instant classic 2-1 win by the Red Sox (83-57 overall, 46-25 home) over the Tigers (81-58 overall, 37-31 away) at Fenway Park felt like it took place in October rather than early September.

No doubt plenty will happen between now and then but it's not hard to imagine a repeat of this matchup in next month's ALCS. These look like the two best teams in the AL (and maybe MLB) so what a treat that would be for baseball fans. Jon Lester (13-8) pitched his best game of the season (7 innings, 1 earned run, 8 hits, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks) as he was able to outduel Max Scherzer (19-2; 7+ innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 3 walks) and also deny him his 20th win.

In such a long campaign, it's extremely rare that all the stars align and we get to witness an excellent regular season contest like this one turned out to be. Former Red Sox Jose Iglesias staked Detroit to a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second but the Tigers third base coach made the stupid decision to send their fat catcher Brayan Pena who was thrown out at home by a mile to end the inning.

Will Middlebrooks provided all the offense that Boston would need with a two-run single up the middle in the fifth that scored Jonny Gomes (2 hits) and Stephen Drew. Austin Jackson was 2 for 4 with a double and Omar Infante went 2 for 4 with a run. After missing the last three games with an abdominal issue, Miguel Cabrera returned to the lineup but went 0 for 4. No at bat was bigger for Lester than in the fifth when Cabrera came up with the bases loaded and two outs. Lester fell behind 2-and-0 to the best hitter on the planet but ended up getting him to ground out to shortstop.

Red Sox manager John Farrell broke this down like a playoff game, having Brandon Workman, Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa all get one out apiece in the eighth. That paved the way for who has quickly become one of the most effective closers in MLB: Koji Uehara. He nailed down his 17th save on nine pitches and remarkably he still struck out two batters including Iglesias to end it (delicious irony!).

You wish that this series could go on forever (relatively speaking) but sadly it at least temporarily has to end tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) with the D-squad showdown of Ryan Dempster (7-9) vs. Rick Porcello (11-7); get your bullpens ready because it should be a long evening.

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Tigers Completely Shut Down Red Sox 3-0 In Series Opener

John Lackey (8-12) continues to pitch very well this season but for whatever unexplainable reason, the Red Sox (82-57 overall, 45-25 home) can't ever seem to score many runs for him. This afternoon at Fenway Park, the Tigers (81-57 overall, 37-30 away) blanked Boston 3-0 thanks to seven shutout innings by Doug Fister (12-7) and just enough offense.

The Red Sox had their first two batters reach base in the first, second and seventh inning but they could never push any of them across thanks to some deft work by Fister (4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 4 walks). Lackey (7.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk) matched Fister for a while but Andy Dirks broke the deadlock with an RBI triple in the seventh. Detroit scored a run on a double play but Lackey was able to escape further damage.

The Tigers had the bases loaded but after Matt Thornton relieved Lackey, all he allowed was Prince Fielder's sacrifice fly in the eighth that scored Austin Jackson (2 for 4, double, stolen base). Somehow the Tigers improved to 9-2 this season with no Miguel Cabrera in their lineup.

Daniel Nava's (3 for 3, 2 doubles, walk) excellent season continued but unfortunately, he had half of Boston's hits. Fireballer Bruce Rondon who hit 102 MPH struck out two in the eighth after Phil Coke got the first out then Jose Veras recorded a scoreless ninth inning for his 21st save of the season. That number is misleading since most of those saves came in Houston; now, he's only the closer in Detroit when Joaquin Benoit needs a break.

Expect another low-scoring pitcher's duel (kiss of death) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as Jon Lester (12-8) faces Max Scherzer (19-1).

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Red Sox & Umpires Conspire To Help Tigers Gain 7-5 Win In Series Finale

It figures that on a day when the Red Sox made Justin Verlander look ordinary, they still couldn't come out on top as they lost 7-5 to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Detroit (42-32 overall, 26-13 home) won the series 3-1 as Boston (45-33 overall, 22-18 away) limps home for a nine-game homestand.

After the best outing of his career, Felix Doubront had his typical performance: five innings, three runs (two earned), four hits, two strikeouts and four walks on 104 pitches.

Not sure what's up with Verlander but he's not himself. He went five innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

Boston was going to blow the game anyway since it was tied 4-4 in the eighth with Andrew Miller (0-2) on the mound but they got no favors from four blind umpires who ruled that Daniel Nava's catch wasn't actually a catch. It was enough to get John Farrell ejected and from there, Detroit tacked on three more runs with Torii Hunter's sacrifice fly and Prince Fielder's (2 hits, 3 RBIs) two-run single.

The Red Sox tried to rally in the ninth as Jonny Gomes had an RBI double but new Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit (2-0) was able to escape thanks to Hunter's diving catch on Stephen Drew's liner to end it.

Miguel Cabrera (2 hits, walk) had a ground-rule RBI double in the first and Fielder drove in another run with a ground out in the first for a 2-0 Tigers lead.

Boston tied it with two runs in the second on Ryan Lavarnway's RBI single and Jacoby Ellsbury's (2 hits, double, stolen base) sacrifice fly. Detroit went back ahead on Lavarnway's passed ball in the home half of the second.

Mike Napoli's ground out in the third and Shane Victorino's ground out in the fourth put Boston up a run (4-3). Things started to unravel in the seventh as Miller hit Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded to tie it at four.

Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with two runs and a walk while David Ortiz was 3 for 5. Austin Jackson reached base five times going 2 for 2 with three runs, three walks and a double.

Boston gets a day off tomorrow then they will enjoy a nine-game homestand until July 4: two games vs. Colorado (39-38, 2nd in NL West), four vs. Toronto (38-36, 4th in AL East) and three vs. San Diego (38-38, 4th in NL West). It should be a sneaky challenge since all three teams are .500 or better with the Rockies and Padres representing two of the biggest surprises in MLB while the Blue Jays have currently won 11 games in a row.

Ryan Dempster (4-8) faces Juan Nicasio (4-3) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) and John Lackey (4-5) opposes Roy Oswalt (0-1) on Tuesday afternoon (4:05, NESN). It's a 2007 World Series rematch with very few of the same guys left on the respective teams!

UPDATE 4/25: A flurry of moves for the Red Sox today as infielder Brandon Snyder was called up from Pawtucket, Will Middlebrooks went to the PawSox and David Ross was moved to the 60-day DL.

Franklin Morales is going back to the DL and Pedro Beato is being recalled from the PawSox.

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Red Sox Come Home, Win 3rd Straight Thanks To Another Fine Start By Buchholz

We are less than 16 hours away from the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline and at least for the moment, it doesn't appear that the Red Sox will do anything big. Still, there is time left for them to pull something off but in the interim, Boston (52-51, 26-28 home) won its third straight overall with a 7-3 win vs. Detroit (54-49, 26-28 away) tonight at Fenway Park.

It was the start of the Red Sox' longest homestand of the season (10 games) and Clay Buchholz (9-3) once again pitched like the ace that he's been since the All-Star break. He gave them eight solid innings (3 runs, 2 earned, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) to earn the win.

Boston's offense knocked around Max Scherzer (10-6) and reliever Phil Coke. In 6.1 innings, Scherzer allowed five earned runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. How many times do you have to hear that strikeouts really aren't that important? I'll say it again: they are one of the most overrated things in baseball. A 5-3 lead in the eighth became 7-3 when Will Middlebrooks (13th of the season) roped a two-run shot off the light tower against Coke to put it out of reach.

Austin Jackson led off the game with a solo homer (his 11th of the season) for the 1-0 Tigers lead, what turned out to be their only one of the game.

Carl Crawford (2 runs) and his one functioning arm/elbow drove in Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI triple in the first then he scored on Dustin Pedroia's ground out.

Miguel Cabrera tied it in the second for Detroit with an RBI single. Pedroia put Boston ahead one last time with a two-run shot (his 9th of the season) that just made it over the Monster in the sixth.

Alex Avila provided the Tigers' last run with an RBI double in the seventh. Kelly Shoppach tripled (really) and Ellsbury knocked him in with a single in the seventh for a 5-3 Red Sox advantage.

Adrian Gonzalez (run) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both had two hits in the win for Boston but as usual, what occurred off the field was far more interesting for this group of clowns.

After making an out in the eighth, Ryan Sweeney punched a door and injured his hand so he's likely headed to the DL. Guess he didn't want to be dealt from here. With Twitter, now everyone is aware of all the trade rumors involving Josh Beckett (5-9). If he's on the mound tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) against Justin Verlander (11-6), well then it's official: the terrorists have won and there is no reason to pay attention for the rest of 2012. He would be a classic case of addition by subtraction.

UPDATE 7/31: We probably won't see Sweeney again this season. He's expected out up to eight weeks after breaking his hand last night. Ryan Kalish has been recalled to take his spot.

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Red Sox Rally But Still Fall Short Against The Tigers On Opening Day 2012

Even though they lost, I don't have many complaints today about the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day 2012.

The Detroit Tigers (1-0) won 3-2 on a walk-off single by Austin Jackson (3 hits, run, RBI) that scored pinch-runner Danny Worth in the bottom of the ninth against Alfredo Aceves at Comerica Park.

The main reason I'm not that mad is that Boston (0-1) trailed 2-0 going into the top of the ninth but they scored twice against Tigers closer Jose Valverde. He had been a perfect 49 for 49 last season in save situations, he hadn't blown a save since September 2010. Dustin Pedroia doubled and was knocked in by David Ortiz's sacrifice fly. Then Ryan Sweeney (2 hits) hit a two-out triple to tie it.

Justin Verlander and Jon Lester as expected had a nice pitcher's duel on a chilly afternoon in Detroit. Verlander was a little better, going eight solid innings and only allowing two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He benefited from some a wide strike zone but that's what you have to expect from a reigning Cy Young winner not to mention an MVP. Lester went seven innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Lester lasted that long because he forced the Tigers to ground into three double plays.

Detroit built a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead with a run in the seventh and a run in the eighth. Alex Avila (2 hits) doubled in Jhonny Peralta (3 hits) in the seventh then Prince Fielder plated Jackson (who tripled) with a sacrifice fly in the eighth against Vicente Padilla.

Aceves (0-1) took the loss but he had to enter a really tough situation: runners on 1st and 2nd with one out after Mark Melancon gave up two singles. By hitting Ramon Santiago, Aceves basically made it a foregone conclusion that the Red Sox would lose.

There is absolutely no reason to panic yet. Truthfully, I didn't think Boston would beat Verlander on Opening Day. Lester pitched well enough but the offense (5 hits, 1 walk) was too quiet to expect a win against the best pitcher in baseball. For some reason, MLB chose to make tomorrow an off-day so the teams will be back at it on Saturday afternoon (4:05 first pitch on Fox) as Josh Beckett takes on Doug Fister, who had a remarkable run after getting traded from Seattle last season.

Normally, I would worry about this Red Sox team getting a night off during the season but other than avoiding getting shot, I don't think they can get into much trouble in Detroit.

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