BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 14, Tigers 5 -- Offense breaks out with four homers in victory

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Tigers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Houck wins again: Anyone watching Tanner Houck in spring training couldn't have had much optimism for him when the regular season began. Houck gave up more homers in Grapefruit League outings in March than he had allowed in parts of three seasons in the big leagues and he seemed to alternate between issuing walks and giving up bombs But in two starts this season, Houck has shown vast improvement. After allowing three runs over five innings in his debut, he was slightly sharper Saturday, giving the Sox another five innings while giving up just two runs. Of course, it helped that the Sox had provided him a 6-0 lead by the second inning, allowing Houck to be more aggressive on the mound. He had just one hiccup, in the fourth inning, when three of the first four Tigers reached and came away with two runs. But Houck straightened out and retired the last five hitters in a row before giving way to the bullpen after just 76 pitches.

Devers heating up: Rafael Devers has had a history of slow starts with the Red Sox, but that hasn't been the case this season. He had two hits Saturday, both long homers, including one with the bases loaded for his fifth career grand slam. That homer came on a pitch that seemed almost unhittable --a pitch tailing away on the outer edge of the strike zone. But somehow, Devers got a piece of it and was strong enough to hit it out the other way to left, despite a stiff incoming breeze. His five homers this season lead the American League, and it would seem that any fear that Devers might spend the first month trying a little too hard to justify the 10-year, $312.5-million contract he signed in January is misplaced.

Kelly proves worth: Reliever Zack Kelly is getting plenty of work early in the season, as the reliever the Red Sox got to whenever they're up big or down big. That may not sound like much of a role, but it can be important for a team to have a trustworthy reliever in those situations so that others don't have to get used under such circumstances. Kelly has shown himself to be both effective (1.35 ERA so far), but also resilient, capable of providing the Sox with multiple innings in outings. Already, after eight games, he's given them 6.2 innings and provided them with a bridge from the starter to the back end of the bullpen.

TURNING POINT

The Red Sox showed some patience early in the game, drawing four walks in the second inning alone. That inning also saw the Sox force in two runs with bases-loaded walks. Every hitter who drew a walk that inning came around to score as the Sox raced to a quick 6-0 lead and chased starting pitcher Joey Wentz. Getting into the bullpen so early was a positive, too -- not just in Saturday's win, but also, potentially impacting the Tigers in the series finale Sunday as the Red Sox go for the sweep.

TWO UP

Adam Duvall: What a first eight games it's been for Duvall in a Red Sox uniform. He had another homer -- his second in two days -- and fourth of the season while also belting two doubles in a three-hit effort.

Alex Verdugo: Dropped from leadoff to the sixth spot because of a lefty starter, Verdugo kept raking with two hits, an RBI and two runs scored before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the rout.  

TWO DOWN

Kiké Hernandez: Is it time to start worrying about Hernandez at short? He made two more errors Saturday -- one fielding, one throwing -- and now has five in just eight games. He also was 0-for-4 at the plate.

Ryan Brasier: Brasier had a seemingly easy job to perform -- get the last three outs with his team in possession of a 12-run lead. He got the first two outs quickly, but then allowed the next five hitters to reach and three runs to score before finally closing it out.

QUOTE OF NOTE

"I feel like we're an aggressive group of guys, but we also take our walks, take our pitches and kind of force pitchers to get in the zone and we make good decisions. That's how you put up runs.'' Alex Verdugo on the Red Sox' offensive approach.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

* Tanner Houck became the first Red Sox pitcher to go to 2-0.

* The Red Sox are now 7-1 vs. Detroit and 4-1 in Comerica Park since the start of last season.

* The five runs from the Tigers in the bottom of the ninth represented the first time the opposition had scored in the ninth this season.

* The 14 RBI for Adam Duvall are the most for any Red Sox player in his first eight games with the franchise.

* Kiké Hernandez (0-for-4) is not without a hit in his last 17 at-bats.

UP NEXT

The Red Sox and Tigers complete their series Sunday with a 1:10 p.m. start. The pitching matchup will feature RHP Kutter Crawford (0-1, 15.75) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (0-0, 4.15);