Boston, MA (Sports Network) - David Ortiz provided some late-game dramatics
yet again, belting a game-winning three-run double in the ninth inning to lift
the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Ryan Perry, who came into the game for the Tigers in the seventh, began the
ninth by allowing a leadoff single to Darnell McDonald and was lifted in favor
of Phil Coke (6-2).
Coke was able to induce a fly out from Marco Scutaro, but Jed Lowrie followed
with a pinch-hit double to send McDonald to third. After intentionally walking
Kevin Youkilis to load the bases, Ortiz blasted a double to deep center to
plate all three runners and win the game.
Ortiz's hit comes one game after his ninth-inning grand slam nearly gave
Boston another comeback win, falling just one run short in Friday's 6-5 defeat
in the series opener. The rally made a winner of Hideki Okajima (4-3), who
threw one scoreless frame.
Ryan Kalish, making his major league debut, added two hits, an RBI and a run
scored for the Red Sox, who have won six of nine but finished July at a
mediocre 12-13. McDonald finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win.
"I just never felt this much energy in a stadium," Kalish said. "This is
Fenway Park, this has been around forever. A three-run walkoff double is
something that -- you watch on TV with all those guys freaking out, and I was
one of those guys freaking out today. It was a lot of fun."
Miguel Cabrera clubbed his 26th home run of the season for the Tigers, who
have lost five of six. Max Scherzer was denied the win despite allowing just
one run on nine hits and a walk while fanning three in 6 1/3 frames.
"It was a very good ball game. Scherzer pitched extremely well, really very,
very well," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "We were a little hamstrung
today. Last night's bullpen situation really took a toll on today's game."
It didn't take long for the Tigers to put a couple runs on the board.
Will Rhymes worked a one-out walk, and, after Brennan Boesch fouled out,
Cabrera crushed a 1-0 pitch down the middle well over the Green Monster for a
two-run Detroit advantage.
The visitors added to their lead in the second, as Jeff Frazier singled with
one away, moved to second on a Gerald Laird's infield single and scored on
Ramon Santiago's base hit to center.
Santiago's RBI double in the fourth made it 4-0, and Scherzer made it stand up
with a gem of an outing.
Scherzer was also the beneficiary of three double plays before the Red Sox got
to him in the seventh. Adrian Beltre reached on an infield single and moved to
third when Bill Hall singled and got thrown out at second trying to stretch
the play. Brad Thomas was brought in from the bullpen and yielded an RBI
single to Kalish before McDonald's RBI double off Perry brought Boston to
within 4-2.
Perry, though, limited the damage in the inning and pitched around a leadoff
single in the eighth to maintain Detroit's two-run advantage.