Ranger Suárez tosses eight scoreless innings, Mastaka Yoshida walk-off lifts Red Sox past Tigers

BOSTON — The Red Sox signed Ranger Suárez in January for outings like Friday night.

Boston’s $130 million acquisition delivered, twirling a gem with eight scoreless innings while inducing a steady stream of soft contact.

Suárez was impressive, working deep into the game and showcasing Craig Breslow’s vision of run prevention as he carved through the Tigers lineup.

The way the game opened made it seem like the left-hander might be in for a long night. After a leadoff groundout, he allowed back-to-back singles, the second appearing headed for a double that would have put runners on second and third with one out.

But Ceddanne Rafaela’s throw to second just beat Jahmai Jones’ slide. Though Jones was initially ruled safe, the call was overturned on replay.

From that point on, Suárez was locked in. He retired nine straight batters following the overturned call and 22 of the next 23 between the first and eighth innings.

The only Detroit baserunner during that stretch came on a fourth-inning walk to Dillon Dingler, but Suárez quickly erased it by inducing an inning-ending groundout just four pitches later.

“He’s really good at what he does. He is,” Alex Cora said after the game. “I hate using the preparation going into the season, but that was part of it. If he would’ve pitched four innings and five innings for Venezuela, then yes, right? But he didn’t do that.

“For a finesse pitcher, you need your reps,” Cora continued. “Velo was up today, command was outstanding, the mix of pitches was great, cutter, sinker, four, curveball, I mean, that’s pitching right there. That’s pitching.”

Suárez finished strong, recording his fourth consecutive 1-2-3 inning and capping his outing by striking out Tigers rookie Hao-Yu Lee looking on a perfectly located sinker at the lower inside corner.

His final line was dominant: eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out four. Dating back to his last start, Suárez has now thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings.

“I think the rhythm, the rhythm I’ve been having the last two starts has helped me to locate my pitches,” Suarez said via interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez. “I think that’s a big part of it.”

Suárez was brilliant, but it was Masataka Yoshida’s walk-off single in the 10th that sealed it, lifting the Red Sox to a 1-0 win over the Tigers in front of 34,866 at Fenway Park.

It marked Yoshida’s first walk-off hit with Boston, a moment the veteran outfielder had envisioned since arriving in 2023.

“That was really exciting,” Yoshida said via interpreter Yutaro Yamaguchi. “As a player whenever I can help the team win, that’s a great feeling.”

Before the game, Cora said he considered starting Yoshida but chose to stick with Jarren Duran in left field in hopes of jumpstarting the struggling outfielder.

Yoshida stayed ready throughout, with Cora noting he asked him to be prepared from the fifth inning on in case a pinch-hit opportunity arose.

“I know it’s not easy,” Cora said, “but having that guy on the bench or having Roman on the bench or Jarren in situations like that, you have to pick your poison on the other side. They’re good hitters, all of them. We’re going to use them the way we want to use them.

“He’s just a professional and in these situations, I know how it feels. You want to play. Let’s be honest. Masa was one of the best in Japan. We got him for a reason here. He has been banged up, and now all of the sudden this is how we’re gonna play the game with this roster. We’re gonna maximize it.”

Yoshida’s chopper over the first baseman’s head marked the Red Sox’s first walk-off hit of the season, coming on the first pitch.

“I think I just got lucky,” said Yoshida (through interpreter Yutaro Yamaguchi). “It bounced pretty high, so I was hoping it was gonna go through.”

Yoshida has shifted into a part-time role, at least for now, but he’s making the most of every opportunity.

“You never know when my number gets called,” Yoshida said. “There’s a challenge there that I don’t know when it’s going to be my time. Just trying to stay ready whenever my number gets called.

“Throughout the season, some guys have bad days and some guys have good days. Whenever I’m in the lineup, I want to contribute and put out my best day.”

Boston has now won seven of 12 games in its “Fenway Greens” jerseys, introduced last summer, with all seven victories coming via walk-off.

“In a situation that this place is going nuts and we know we need to win games, he stayed calm, got a pitch and hit it hard,” Cora said.

Another pivotal moment, likely overshadowed by Suárez’s gem and Yoshida’s heroics, came in the ninth inning when Connor Wong threw out Javier Báez attempting to steal second. Báez was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned on replay.

Aroldis Chapman then made things interesting, walking Gleyber Torres to bring up Kevin McGonigle. The rookie hit a grounder to first, Willson Contreras wisely threw down to second for the force out.

That decision proved critical moments later when Jones ripped a double down the left-field line. Had Torres not been erased, he likely would have scored the go-ahead run. Instead, Detroit was left with runners at second and third with two outs, and Chapman preserved the scoreless tie by striking out Dingler to end the inning.

Tigers starter Casey Mize was dominant as well.

He retired the first eight Red Sox batters he faced and allowed just one baserunner over the minimum through the first five innings.

Boston’s only baserunners early came via a Wong ground-rule double in the third, a Contreras hit-by-pitch in the fourth, and a Rafaela walk in the fifth. Wong was stranded after Roman Anthony struck out to end the third.

The Red Sox had a prime opportunity in the sixth when Caleb Durbin led off with a double into the left-field corner. He was the only Boston runner to reach third base before the 10th inning. Durbin advanced on a flyout, but Anthony and Wong were retired, and Contreras struck out to end the threat.

Mize recorded two more outs in the seventh before being lifted after an infield single by Duran. He finished with three hits allowed over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, with one walk, one hit batsman, and seven strikeouts.

With the win, the Red Sox improved to 8-11 on the season. Game 2 of the four-game series is set for Saturday at 4:10 p.m., featuring a matchup between right-hander Brayan Bello (1-1, 6.14 ERA) and reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (2-2, 2.22 ERA).