Jarrod Saltalamacchia belted an eighth inning double off the Green Monster to score Carl Crawford from first base, giving the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
Ryan Perry came in and got the first two outs in the eighth inning for Detroit, but Daniel Schlereth relieved him and walked Crawford, then gave up Saltalamacchia’s double off the left field wall. Schlereth (0-1) also hit a batter before being yanked in favor of Al Albuquerque, failing to get an out.
The Tigers threatened to tie in the ninth inning after Victor Martinez double to right field off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, but Papelbon retired the next three batters, including strikeouts of Ryan Raburn and Alex Avila.
Detroit wasted a solid effort from Phil Coke, who needed just 78 pitches to get through seven innings before rain delayed the game for a half an hour. Coke did not return to the game, giving up just three hits and no runs. Clay Bucholz had a nearly identical line for the Red Sox, giving up four hits and no runs in seven innings.