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.