Tigers swept by Red Sox; Flaherty strikes out 10
Jack Flaherty struck out 10 in five innings but the Tigers were swept by the Red Sox.
Detroit - One way for the Tigers to stay afloat amid all these injuries they have would be to play sound defense. That would certainly help the pitching, and make the offense's task a bit easier. More: Detroit Tigers, Game 38: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't But the Tigers' defense hardly helped the cause Wednesday, a key reason the Boston Red Sox completed the three-game series sweep with a 4-0 victory.
Tigers' starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (0-3) was tagged with the loss, but didn't get help behind him. Flaherty struck out 10 - the first five hitters he faced, and five of the last six - and four runs, only two of which were earned. The gut-punch was third baseman Colt Keith's error with two out and two on in the fourth inning.
Carlos Narvaez's grounder got through Keith, and scored Masataka Yoshida (singled) and Ceddanne Rafaela (walked), giving the Red Sox (16-21) a 4-0 lead. Keith's deflecting Marcelo Mayer's grounder in the third, led to an infield single to lead off the inning. After Narvaez was hit by a pitch, Spencer Torkelson dropped a foul pop-up giving Caleb Durbin new life.
Durbin followed with a double, scoring Mayer. Narvaez would later score on a Wilson Contreras sacrifice fly. Both teams had four hits in the game.