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Tigers Vs. Red Sox: Detroit Comes Back Twice In Clutch To Sweep Boston

Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila each knocked out home runs on a day where Detroit batters collected 17 hits.

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15 Total Updates since March 19, 2012
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Tigers Vs. Red Sox Final: Avila, Cabrera Pound Clutch Home Runs To Stun Boston Late

The bats are out in full force for Detroit hitters to kick off the 2012 season, and the Tigers out-slugged an equally-potent Boston squad 13-12 in extra innings on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.

The afternoon's two starting pitchers, Detroit's Max Scherzer and Boston's Clay Buchholz, combined to pitch just 6.2 innings, surrendering 16 hits with four combined walks. Scherzer's five-run implosion in the third signaled the end to his day, while Buchholz was scored upon in three of the four innings where he saw the mound, and never found a rhythm.

Things looked quite bleak down the stretch for the Tigers, who trailed 10-7 heading into the final inning, before a Miguel Cabrera three-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth tied the game at ten apiece and brought an Easter Sunday crowd of well over 30,000 fans to their feet. Cabrera, who now has three home runs and eight RBI on the season, looks to be the most feared hitter in baseball at the moment, and is clearly benefiting from the added protection of Prince Fielder in the lineup.

After a pair of scoreless extra innings from both sides, former Minnesota Twins utility man Nick Punto slapped a single to left center in the 11th to score Cody Ross and give the Red Sox a one-run advantage that quickly grew to two. But instead of lying down in the bottom half of the inning with two outs, catcher Alex Avila, who played the entire day behind the plate, sent a Mark Melancon fastball *narrowly* over the wall in right field to give Detroit a two-run homer and a miraculous 13-12 walkoff win.

The two clubs combined for 25 runs on 35 hits during the day, in a game that lasted nearly five hours and tested the mettle of both bullpens. The Tigers (3-0) will take on AL East representative Tampa Bay in a three-game home series that opens on Tuesday.

For more on the Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more MLB coverage, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

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Tigers Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder Shell Boston In 10-0 Win

The Detroit Tigers put up a dominant performance on Saturday, besting the Boston Red Sox by a score of 10-0. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder put on a clinic, with two homeruns apiece, while Alex Avila added a homerun of his own. Josh Beckett was shelled for five home runs total, giving up a total of seven hits and seven earned runs through 4.2 innings - finishing with a 13.50 ERA. He was given the loss, though Scott Atchison and Matt Albers also gave up an earned run each.

Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the first that scored Austin Jackson, and then Fielder and Avila both homered in the fourth inning to make it 4-0. Beckett was allowed to give up another two homeruns - to Cabrera and Fielder in the fifth before he was pulled. Kind of odd that he was kept in to face Cabrera and Fielder, but that's the direction they went.

Doug Fister left the game in the top of the fourth inning with a strain on his left side. As such, Duane Below gets the win for the Tigers. They move to 2-0 on the season and have another matchup with Boston on Sunday to close out the opening series. That game is set for 1:05 p.m. ET.

For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

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Tigers Vs. Red Sox: Detroit Rallies In The Bottom Of The 9th For Opening Day Win

After Jose Valverde blew his first save since Sept. 2, 2010, the Detroit Tigers rallied in the bottom of the ninth and Austin Jackson hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded for a 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day.

Justin Verlander surrendered just two hits over eight scoreless innings, but Valverde was tagged for two runs in the top of the ninth inning. First, David Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly to score Dustin Pedroia, then Ryan Sweeney tied the game with a triple.

The Tigers broke a 0-0 tie in the seventh inning when Alex Avila doubled home Jhonny Peralta off of Red Sox starter Jon Lester. Lester pitched seven innings, allowing six hits and one run. Prince Fielder added another run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

Mark Melancon was tagged with the loss for Boston, after giving up two hits in the bottom of the ninth. Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves came in to try to clean up Melancon's mess, but, after hitting Ramon Santiago, Jackson singled down the third base line to win the game for the Tigers.

For more on the Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. For more MLB coverage, head over to Baseball Nation.

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