Red Sox Outlast Tigers And Rain For 3-2 Win
DETROIT -- Records continue to fall for David Ortiz like his home runs rain down from the sky.
Ortiz swatted his 29th home run of the season with a man on in the fifth inning Saturday night to reach 1,500 RBIs with Boston and also had a key third-inning single to lead the Red Sox to a rain-prolonged 3-2 victory over the fading Detroit Tigers.
Ortiz is tied for the most home runs by a 40-year-old after hitting a hanging inside 0-1 curve into the right field seats off Daniel Norris (1-2) following a leadoff double by Xander Bogaerts. He now has 97 RBIs this season.
Ortiz also has 23 career home runs at Comerica Park, tops by a visiting player, in just 58 games. AL Central opponents play at least three times as many games in Detroit a season as Boston.
"Big Papi" is closing in on his 10th season of 30 home runs with 100 RBIs with Boston, which would make him him just the fifth player ever to do so at least 10 times for the same team.
"Once again, he's the difference in this one, offensively," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Norris came out throwing the ball good. He had better power, better velocity than maybe we anticipated. A quality breaking ball.
"But he gets a breaking ball up in the zone that David hits out of the park."
"He's one of those guys that you don't want to let beat you," Detroit catcher James McCann said. "You find a way to make someone else beat you in the lineup.
"He's a guy that's done it so many times over his career that you want to pass it on to someone else. If there's a big spot, you don't want to let that guy hurt you."
Detroit, which has lost 10 of 13 to fall seven games out of first place in the AL East, made a late bid.
J.D. Martinez hit reliever Heath Hembree's first pitch to him with one out in the seventh onto the walkway between the two seating sections in left center to bring Detroit within a run at 3-2. It was his 18th home run this year.
Slumping Justin Upton thought he had tied the score with a long two-out blast off closer Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. It hit the front edge of the padding at the top of the center field wall and bounced back on the field.
"Thankfully," Farrell said, "Comerica is 420 to center."
Upton, in his home run trot with his right fist raised, had to scramble to make a double out of it. Casey McGehee fanned on a wicked 2-2 slider to give Kimbrel his 22nd save of the year.
"They say it's a game of inches," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "That was just a few inches away from tying the game. We've got to find a way to chalk up a few more runs.
"We've been struggling a little bit offensively. Their pitchers did a nice job, our pitchers did a nice job. We're in one of those funks right now offensively."
McCann had tied the score at 1 for Detroit with a solo home run, his 10th homer of the season, leading off the third inning against Drew Pomeranz (10-9 overall, 2-2 with Boston).
Pomeranz and Norris both departed when play resumed in the sixth after a rain delay.
Brad Ziegler took over for Hembree after J.D. Martinez's home run. Matt Barnes got two outs in the eighth, but Kimbrel was brought in for a four-out save when Miguel Cabrera came up with two on and two out and got him to line out to left.
"Knowing where that part of the order was coming," Farrell said, "He had been down for four days, well rested. It (four-out save) was always in the thought."
Boston remained a half-game behind Toronto in the AL East with the win. Detroit has scored 19 runs in its 10 losses.
The Red Sox broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third with consecutive singles by Dustin Pedroia, Bogaerts and Ortiz loading the bases. The run came in as Mookie Betts was grounding into a double play.
Ortiz also singled in the first on a night when the Tigers honored him with a framed picture of his appearance in the 2005 All-Star game in Detroit.
The game was delayed by rain for 1:20 at the start and again for 1:11 just as the sixth inning was about to begin.
Farrell announced after the game that Rodriguez would not start as scheduled Sunday. Henry Owens was being brought up from the minors after Rodriguez still felt some hamstring tenderness following a Friday night bullpen.
NOTES: Tigers rookie Michael Fulmer reappeared on the leaders' statistics after Friday's start and his 2.58 ERA topped the league. He could be the first rookie ERA leader since Tigers RHP Mark Fidrych in 1976. ... RHP Steven Wright (shoulder) throws a bullpen Sunday to see if he will be able to come off the disabled list and start on Tuesday. Wright said he won't be able to; manager John Farrell said that hasn't been determined. ... Dartmouth educated Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Saturday he can't remember what his rotation looks like for next week, even though he wrote it down. ... Farrell visited a Michigan football practice hosted by Coach Jim Harbaugh. "Obviously a very successful guy," the Red Sox skipper said. "Very passionate. That comes across very clear."