Final: Red Sox 9, Tigers 6

Withstanding a rain delay of more than two hours, the Red Sox beat up the Detroit Tigers, 9-5.

The Sox got a three-run homer from Xander Bogaerts in the eighth to break open a one-run game.

Boston emerged from the rain delay to piece together three straight hits, and aided by a Tigers error, a walk and a sacrifice fly, scored three in the top of the sixth.

But a bizarre inning which included errors from both Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. led to four runs for the Tigers.

Eduardo Rodriguez didn't return after the delay, but limited the Tigers to a single run over the first five innings.

Rafael Devers belted a two-run homer in the third.

 

WHO: Red Sox (46-41)  vs Detroit Tigers (28-54)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Comerica Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 2-2
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-4, 4.79) vs. LHP Ryan Carpenter (1-4, 8.82)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

12:08 Xander Bogaerts gives the Red Sox some breathing room again, with a three-run belt to deep left.

11:23 What a strange inning for the Red Sox outfield -- first Mookie Betts mishandles a routine single to right, allowing a baserunner to take an extra base. Next, Jackie Bradley Jr. tries to make a basket catch and the ball gets him on the heel of the glove.

10:55  Bradley snaps a 0-for-13 with a hard double the other way, scoring Vazquez.

10:49 About to get restarted following a rain delay of about two hours. Marcus Walden warming, as Eduardo Rodriguez, understandably, won't return to the mound.

8:43  Eduardo Nunez is a below-average second baseman, but he's made two athletic plays at the position tonight.

8:40 It's somewhat lost behind his offensive explosion over the last two months, but Devers really has improved at third. Playing with more confidence and has almost eliminated those sloppy errors.

8:28 Another example of J.D. Martinez being a liability in the outfield. Took forever to track that ball down in left, allowing Brandon Dixon, not especially fast, to score all the way from first.

8:11 Jackie Bradley Jr. is now 0-for-13, with seven of the outs strikeouts.

8:07 Rodriguez allows a leadoff double to Niko Goodrum, but settles in and gets the next three hitters to keep Goodrum at second base.

7:45 Rafael Devers, who didn't seem to swing all that hard, reaches out and drives the ball out to left, scoring Betts ahead of him. Sixteenth homer of the year.

7:21 That shouldn't happen as often as  it does -- Eduardo Rodriguez doesn't get over to first base in time and Victor Reyes reaches on a base hit to the right side.

7:16 Nothing fancy, but a leadoff double by Mookie Betts and two groundouts produce a quick run for the Red Sox.

LINEUPS



RED SOX

Betts RF
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Martinez LF
Vazquez DH
Chavis 1B
Bradley CF
Nunez 2B
Leon C

TIGERS

Reyes CF
Castellanos RF
Cabrera DH
Dixon 1B
Candelario 3B
Castro LF
Goodrum LF
Hicks c
Mercer SS

WHAT'S UP: The Sox took the series in Toronto, taking two-of-three, but overall have lost four of their last six games...Since the start of 2015, the Red Sox and Tigers have split their last 30 games (15-15), including the 14 games (7-7) at Comerica Park in that span....The Sox comeback win was their 26th of the season, tying them with Houston and the Yankees for the most in the American League...Michael Chavis, whose three-run homer keyed Thursday's comeback, has three homers and nine RBI in his last five games...In his last 17 games, he's hitting .303 (23-for-76) with four homers and 16 RBI....Since making his major league debut on April 20, Chavis is tied for sixth most RBI in the A.L. in that span with 47...His 15 homers are the most for a Red Sox rookie before the All-Star break since Fred Lynn in 1975, who had 16...Rafael Devers has an eight-game hitting streak during which he's hitting .529 (18-for-34) with seven doubles, three homers, 11 RBI and 12 runs scored...Over their last 18 games, the Red Sox are averaging 6.9 runs per game while leading the majors in batting average (.311), slugging percentage (.534) and OPS (.903)….The Sox have homered in each of their last eight games for a total of 17 homers and have produced at least three extra-base hits in each of their last eight games...Over his last 13 games, Jackie Bradley Jr. has a .433 OBP...Since May 20, he ranks 11th in the A.L. in slugging percentage and seventh in OPS....Christian Vazquez has homered in six of his last 14 games...Since May 4, he's hitting .333 (54-for-162), the third-highest average in the A.L. in that stretch....Xander Bogaerts leads the A.L.in doubles (28) and is tied for second in extra-base hits (44)….Mookie Betts leads the majors in runs scored with 71 and his .386 on-base percentage is fifth-best in the league....J.D. Martinez has a seven-game hitting streak, during which he's 14-for-30 with three doubles and two homers....Eduardo Rodriguez leads the Red Sox with eight wins....The Sox are 12-3 in his last 15 starts...He's gone five innings or more in 11 straight starts....In five career starts against the Tigers, he's 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA...Nicholas Castellanos is 1-for-13 lifetime against Rodriguez while Miguel Cabrera is 3-for-9.....The Red Sox do not have any at-bats against Ryan Carpenter.