On Friday, the Boston Red Sox took on the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park for the first of three games, and Alex Cora's squad took Game 1 of the series 7-5.
Boston got a great start from Tanner Houck, who tossed six scoreless innings of three-hit, two-walk baseball while striking out six batters. Things got tighter when Brennan Bernardino came in and allowed three runs (all scoring on a home run) on two hits and a walk while striking out three.
Justin Slaten (2/3 of an inning) got the Red Sox out of the eighth inning, but Kenley Jansen (one inning) blew the save in the bottom of the ninth, allowing one run to score and tie the game. Chris Martin pitched the 10th, allowing just the ghost runner to score.
The offense was all right in the opener, recording eight hits and striking out seven times. Connor Wong (2-for-4 with a home run) and Ceddanne Rafaela (1-for-4 with an extra innings home run) drove in two runs each while Wilyer Abreu (1-for-3), Jarren Dran (3-for-5 with an extra innings solo home run) and Triston Casas (0-for-4) drove in one each.
Wong, Duran and Abreu were the only members of Boston's lineup to record multiple hits.
This win improves the Red Sox's record to 70-65 overall and 39-27 on the road. Boston and Detroit will meet again on Saturday.
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