All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-4 loss to the Tigers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Bullpen trips up: The Red Sox ran out four relief pitchers, but only one was effective. The big culprit was Colten Brewer, who entered a tie game in the eighth but issued a leadoff walk and allowed three more hits to lead to a three-run inning for the Tigers. Over his last four outings, Brewer has pitched three innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks. Alex Cora didn't want to go one of his high-leverage relievers in a tie game, with another game coming up tonight, and paid the price. "I didn't have great command and started finding it toward the end (of the inning), but it wasn't early enough,'' said Brewer. "Very frustrating. We've got one job to do and that's to get outs with the game on the line. That's something I obviously I've got to get better at.'' Earlier, Heath Hembree wasn't much better, yielding a one-out solo homer in the sixth to hand the Tigers a lead. The game marked the fourth time in the last six games that the Red Sox bullpen has given up multiple runs.
Sale improved, but out early: In terms of results, this was easily the best outing Chris Sale has had in the first month, as he fanned 10 Tigers and allowed just two runs. But because the Tigers ran up his pitch count early (44 pitches in the first two innings alone), Sale only gave the Red Sox five innings, during which he threw 97 pitches. A number of Tigers forced eight- and nine-pitch at-bats with a lot of foul balls, extending Sale more than he would have liked. "The stuff is starting to get there,'' said Sale, who for the first time this year did not absorb a loss, "but I need to extend these outings a little bit. I'd definitely say this is a step in the right direction; not exactly where we want to be, but better.'' Sale said a key would be throwing more strikes, but also, putting hitters away sooner after he gets ahead early. It was interesting to note that Sale threw sliders for almost exactly half his pitches (48 of 97).
Bogaerts carries the offense: In general, the lineup was pretty quiet, managing just five hits. Two of them came from Xander Bogaerts, who produced a pair of solo homers. He has four RBI in his last two games and again demonstrated how he makes Fenway work for him. In clearing the Monster Seats twice with homers, Bogaerts now has 71 RBI in his last 74 home games. Bogaerts has been one of the Red Sox' most consistent hitters in the lineup this season, having reached base in 18 of his last 19 games while posting a slash line of .309/.392/.515. Other than Bogaerts, the Sox offense produced little - in five of their nine innings, they sent just three hitters to the plate and had just three at-bats with runners in scoring position.
TURNING POINT:
With the game tied at 3-3, Colten Brewer entered in the eighth....and promptly issued a leadoff walk to Niko Goodrum, opening the way for a three-run inning for the Tigers as three of the next four Detroit hitters who came to the plate reached on base hits.
ONE UP:
Tyler Thornburg: After going unused over the weekend in St. Petersburg, Thornburg was the lone effective reliever of the afternoon, retiring all four hitters he faced, including two by strikeout.
TWO DOWN:
Michael Chavis: After blasting a double in his first major league at-bat Saturday, Chavis is hitless in his next nine plate appearances, going 0-for-4 in Game 1.
Bobby Poyner: The lefty gave up a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth, and after the game was optioned to Pawtucket.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"Step in the right direction, but still not satisfied.'' -- Chris Sale.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
- Red Sox pitchers have recorded 40 strikeouts in the last three games.
- Mookie Betts, who knocked in two runs with a third-inning single, is hitting .364 with RISP this season.
- JD Martinez saw his 11 game-hitting streak come to an end. The game also marked the first time this season that he failed to reach base.
- Steve Pearce became the first Red Sox hitters since Aaron Hill in 2016 to reach base via catcher's interference.