The bullpen for the Boston Red Sox have gone a combined 12-14 record throughout the season which is a main reason why they sit behind the Baltimore Orioles in the standings.
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On a night when the Detroit Tigers needed a strong-willed performance from their bullpen to clamp down a seesaw, offensive affair, the club leaned on the usual suspects in the final two innings.
Iglesias is also 1-for-2 with a double, Victor Martinez is 1-for-1 with a walk and James McCann is 0-for-2, but he has an RBI against Wright.
With the game tied in the sixth, Collins drew a bases-loaded two-out walk, which allowed Justin Upton to score the decisive run.
“You can’t fall behind”.
“I was thinking I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go”, Betts said about his race around the bases.
The contributions of those two pitchers have been vital in exorcising some of the demons of Tigers bullpens past, giving the back end a distinctly resolute feel – one that has been lacking in recent years.
His exit Tuesday was the quickest since he also went 4 2/3 innings June 25 at Texas, which was also his last loss.
“I think we did get a little bit fortunate with the Fulmer thing”, Ausmus said. C Ryan Hanigan was still only available on an emergency basis after being scratched Tuesday with flu-like symptoms.
“It was tough to get the ball out to right today”, Ausmus said.
The Tigers expected they would need a lot of runs to keep pace with Boston’s potent offense that underwhelmed in Detroit’s series-opening victory.
Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has been reluctant to use closer Francisco Rodriguez in a four-out save situation this season, and Ausmus has endured a hefty amount of criticism for that stance. Thursday was the last time they got both in a 13-2 win over the Twins.
The Tigers then added to their lead in the top of the second. Kinsler singled, Iglesias doubled and Cabrera was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Expectations for Tiger’s starter Mike Pelfrey tend to be pretty low each time he steps on the mound, but Pelfrey has had a solid July posting a 3.72 ERA over four starts.
It started in the third when Boston almost erased Detroit’s lead with one big swing by Ortiz.
The Red Sox embark on a ten-game West Coast road trip starting Thursday in Anaheim before heading to Seattle for four games and concluding with a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. His lone appearance against Detroit was last July, when he allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings in a loss.
Red Sox: Manager John Farrell said LF/C Blake Swihart (left ankle sprain) is “ramping up activities” but because of some residual discomfort is not yet ready for a rehab assignment. The next seven to 10 days will be pivotal for him to determine his next step, Farrell said.
In the seventh, Fulmer gave up a solo homer to Bogaerts leading off and took a high-hop grounder from Jackie Bradley Jr. off the top of the right shoulder, but the 23-year-old right-hander stayed in the game.
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Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia hit solo homers for the Red Sox, who lost for the fifth time in six games to complete a 4-5 homestand. He is 4-0 in five starts against American League East teams this season. A single by Sandy Leon pulled the Red Sox within 4-2, but Wilson settled down to get an out and Rodriguez came on to help end the rally.
