Red Sox 2, Tigers 1: Jon Lester outdueled Max Scherzer and Will Middlebrooks drove in a pair of runs as Boston evened the series with visiting Detroit.

Lester (13-8) struck out nine and allowed one run on eight hits over seven innings in his sixth straight quality start. Jonny Gomes added two hits and scored a run for the first-place Red Sox, who maintained their 5 1/2-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

Scherzer (19-2) struck out eight while surrendering two runs on five hits over seven-plus innings in losing for the first time since July 13. The right-hander missed out on a second straight opportunity to register his 20th win as the first-place Tigers saw their lead over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central slip to 7 1/2 games.

Jose Iglesias put Detroit on top early with an RBI double in the second and Scherzer held off Boston until the fifth. Gomes started the rally with a single and Stephen Drew blasted a ground-rule double to right-center before Middlebrooks delivered a two-out base hit up the middle to put the Red Sox on top.

Brandon Workman, Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa each recorded an out in the eighth before Koji Uehara struck out a pair in the ninth for his 17th save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera (abdomen) returned after a three-game absence and went 0-for-4, including a groundout with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth. … Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury (left thumb) and C Jarrod Saltalmacchia (lower back) both sat out the game and are day-to-day. … Boston RF Daniel Nava walked in the eighth inning to extend his streak of reaching base to 38 straight starts.