If you had Rob Refsnyder with a ruled home run off the top of the Green Monster on your bingo card tonight, no you didn’t you liar. But Rob Refsnyder sure did, and to the surprise of precisely no one who has paid attention this season, the Tigers had a rough time.
In the first, Riley Greene kicked things off with a one-out single against Michael Wacha, then a Baez home run put the Tigers on the board nice and early.
In the bottom of the inning Tarik Skubal had an unearned baserunner in Duran, thanks to a throwing error from Baez. Thankfully a double play removed the threat. No runs would score for Boston.
Onto the second and with two outs in the inning, Schoop hit a ground-rule double to right, but it wasn’t enough to help Detroit with their score. Skubal cleanly mowed down the Sox order in the bottom of the inning.
A Baez single was the only thing the Tigers managed in the top of the third, but the Red Sox did plenty of damage in the bottom of the inning. Vazquez doubled, then Dalbec drew a walk. Duran doubled to score the two baserunners. Then Refsyder homered to bring the score to 4-0 and obliterated the Tigers’ early lead. With two outs, Martinez drew the second walk of the inning but no additional runs scored.
In the top of the fourth a Grossman walk was the only thing the Tigers managed for baserunners, and in the bottom of the inning Skubal allowed a lone single to Dalbec. Neither team scored.
Wacha got his first 1-2-3 inning of the game in the top of the fifth. The bottom of the fifth saw things go from bad to worse for Skubal. Refsnyder got a one-out double, then Martinez walked. A Bogaerts groundout pushing both baserunners into scoring position. Verdugo singled and scored both baserunners, and that was the end of the night for Skubal who headed back to the dugout with a final line of 4.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR on 99 pitches. Joe Jimenez came in hoping to collect the final out, and managed it without much issue, which I’m grateful for because I didn’t want to adjust Tarik’s line.
Javier Baez… walked? Wacha finished out the sixth for the Sox, but did give up the Baez walk, a single to Cabrera that hustled Baez over to third. The next three batters were outs to end the inning and the threat. Jimenez continued on for the Tigers and gave up a leadoff single to Vazquez, but got the next three outs.
Diekman was on for the Sox and has a very impressively red beard. A Schoop walk was all the Tigers managed. In the bottom of the seventh with one out Riley Greene caused a little drama by dropping a Martinez fly, except he didn’t, he bobbled it on the throw back, so it was all fine.
In the eighth Sawamura was up next, and set the Tigers down in order. Foley came on for the Tigers and gave up a single to Story, who then stole second. Foley got the next three batters in order.
Onto the top of the ninth and the Tigers’ last chance. It was wasted, as the Tigers went down 1-2-3 and the Red Sox won the game and series.
Final: Red Sox 6, Tigers 2