There are few better ways to end a road trip than completing a sweep of a team that had never been swept.
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They’re also a ideal 5-0 in his last five outings against American League East opponents and are 9-0 in his last nine starts when their opponent scores five runs or more in its previous game, as the Red Sox did last night in their 9-8 loss to the Tigers.
– The series sweep was the first of the season suffered by the Red Sox.
Manager Brad Ausmus said after the game that Rodriguez was away from the club “tending to a personal issue”. “I look at it as Miggy hit the ball 385 feet into the wind, a ball without the wind that would have gone into the bullpen easily”.
“Just a fastball”, Ziegler (0-1) said. But still it wasn’t a awful pitch.
Tigers rookie starter Michael Fulmer had another solid start, giving up three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks in 7º innings.
Designated hitter Victor Martinez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and catcher James McCann hit a home run for the Tigers, who left 10 men on base.
Bruce Rondon (4-2) earned the win in relief and Justin Wilson secured his first career save for Detroit.
Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He finished with a half-dozen strikeouts, three earned runs and three walks. He also struck out six batters.
Fulmer gave up a game-tying, two-out RBI triple to Mookie Betts in the eighth inning.
“It’s become a much more defined pitch, so it’s a much more usable pitch for him”, Farrell said. “He just caught up with it and drove it”.
Detroit threatened to break the game open in the top half of the third when the bases were juiced with only one out. Betts then ripped a line-drive triple to the triangle area in center field to score Shaw. He had doubled off the Green Monster in the third inning and ended the series with five hits, including a home run.
“I just kind of watched it in the air, it looked like it just kept getting further and further away”, he said.
Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia had solo homers for the Red Sox, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
Martinez ripped a two-run single in the top of the third to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
David Ortiz clubbed a three-run homer, his 25th of the year, and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a solo shot for his 16th for Boston (55-43), which is 1-4 in its past five games.
The Tigers went on to beat the Red Sox, 4-3, today for their second sweep in three years at Fenway Park.
– Aaron Hill collected his first extra-base hit (double) as a member of the Red Sox. He is scheduled to report to Triple-A Pawtucket for a rehabilitation assignment Saturday.
Pedroia trimmed the deficit to one with his RBI single later in the inning, and Bogaerts tied the game with a run-scoring groundout.
In discussing Wright’s latest outing on the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network pregame show with Tim Neverett on Wednesday, Farrell hinted if things can not be corrected in those elements, Wright may need to be scratched in such games.
NOTES: Boston C Ryan Hanigan (flu-like symptoms) was a late scratch. He has been on the disabled list since July 5. Boston LHP David Price (9-7, 4.51) hopes to rebound from two straight mediocre starts. Detroit OF Cameron Maybin remained out of the starting lineup because of a back injury. Martinez will DH for two games and might play in the outfield Friday, manager Brad Ausmus said.
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Over his last two starts Rodriguez has thrown 64 sliders and struck out 14, the most over any two game stretch for him this season. He is scheduled to undergo surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
