Red Sox 5, Tigers 4

 

With both the Celtics and the Bruins seasons over and the stage all to themselves, the Red Sox did the right thing and actually won a game, beating Detroit, 5-4, in Fenway last night.

Tiger's pitching ace Tarik Skubal scratched that afternoon, which certainly improved Boston's chances. He's scheduled to undergo elbow surgery and we wish him all the best, even as we breathe a sigh of relief for not having to face him last night.

In place of Skubal, the Tigers went into deep improv mode and started the game with reliever Tyler Holton, who lasted all of one inning. Holton was replaced by Ty Madden, making his first mound appearance since 2024 and lasting five innings. The seventh inning brought out Ricky Vanasco, another pitcher who hadn't played since '24, but who helpfully gave up a three-run homer to Jarren Duran, his fourth of the season. Enmanuel De Jesús, who hadn't pitched since 2023, replaced Vanasco and gave up two more runs on RBI singles by Abreu and Mayer.  Finally, the Tigers trotted out our old friend, former Red Sox reliever Kenley Jansen, to close out the ninth, even though Detroit was trailing by five runs. 

With the parade of rehab projects pitching for the opposing team, all the Red Sox had to do was not fuck up, or at least not too badly, and Payton Tolle more than rose to the occasion. He threw eight Ks over seven innings with only one hit, one walk, and two unearned runs thanks to fielding errors by Monasterio and Narváez. Whitfield gave up two more runs in relief to make the game more interesting before Chapman came on in the ninth and shut that shit down. 

So the Red Sox pick up a much-needed win, but every win for the rest of the season will probably be "much needed." They're still 10 games back from first in the AL East but at least they once again have a better record than Houston, who took the first of most likely three loses to the Dodgers in L.A. last night. 

It will be a battle of the lefties tonight with Jovani Morán (0-1, 2.33) starting for the Red Sox. On April 18, Morán relieved a struggling Brayan Bello and threw three strikeouts in three innings against the Tigers, giving up only one hit and no runs. Tonight, he'll be up against Detroit's Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.35), who gave up a home run but struck out seven Red Sox batters the night after Morán's relief appearance.  

A Boston sweep of this series will not only be a welcome change of pace and a bright spot in this dismal year, but would be the Sox' first sweep of the season.