Red Sox Show Impressive Resilience Vs. Tigers After All-Star Pitcher Goes Down
Boston clawed back to beat Detroit on Patriots' Day after losing Sonny Gray to injury.
Red Sox Show Impressive Resilience Vs. Tigers After All-Star Pitcher Goes Down originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Prior to Monday's game against the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox were 8-0 this season when their starting pitcher went at least six innings and gave them a quality start. When he didn't, they were 0-13, indicating how reliant they've been on their rotation this year. On Monday, the Red Sox finally bucked that trend, beating the Tigers 8-6 despite losing Sonny Gray to a hamstring injury in the top of the third inning.
Alex Cora used seven relievers to get the final 19 outs, essentially emptying the bullpen in the series finale. Meanwhile, Boston's bats responded with one of their best games of the year. The Red Sox hung eight runs on Detroit -- their most in a home game this season -- including six runs against the Tigers' bullpen.
Boston's bullpen was better, and that made the difference. The lineup also stayed aggressive, tacking on key insurance runs during the late innings to give the Red Sox some breathing room. Losing Gray was demoralizing and put Boston in a tough spot, especially coming off back-to-back losses.