David Price and three relievers silenced the Detroit Tigers, and the visiting Boston Red Sox made a first-inning run stand up in a 1-0 squeaker on Friday night.
Price (11-6) allowed four hits and a walk while striking out five in 6 1/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 31st save.
Steve Pearce had two hits and drove in the game's lone run while Andrew Benintendi added two hits and scored the run.
Red Sox second baseman Brock Holt left the game in the fourth inning with a knee contusion.
Detroit starter Matt Boyd (4-9) gave up one run on three hits and struck out six in five-plus innings. Boyd hasn't recorded a victory since June 7, when the Tigers faced Boston at Fenway Park.
Benintendi slapped a one-out single to right-center in the first and advanced on a walk to ex-Tiger J.D. Martinez. Pearce then drilled a double to bring home Benintendi. Martinez was later thrown out at home on Xander Bogaerts' fielder's choice grounder.
Martinez robbed JaCoby Jones of an extra-base hit in the third, crashing into the wall to haul in a long fly to right.
Price, who retired the first nine batters he faced, worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. Following singles by Niko Goodrum, Jeimer Candelario and Nicholas Castellanos, Price retired John Hicks on a short fly and James McCann on a strikeout. J.D. Martinez then tracked down Victor Martinez's liner to right, ending the threat.
The Red Sox loaded the bases with one out in the sixth. Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire burned through three relievers during the inning but it worked. Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez fouled out, leaving the runners stranded.
Boston also had three baserunners to no avail in the seventh.
The Red Sox held onto the lead during a bizarre bottom of the eighth. Goodrum struck out against reliever Matt Barnes but reached first on a wild pitch. He then advanced to third on another wild pitch but was tagged out at home on Castellanos' fielder's choice grounder.
--Field Level Media
Boston | Detroit | |
David Price | Player | Matthew Boyd |
Win | W/L | Loss |
6.1 | IP | 5.0 |
5 | Strikeouts | 6 |
4 | Hits | 3 |
0.00 | ERA | 1.80 |
Boston | Detroit | |
Andrew Benintendi | Player | Leonys Martin |
2 | Hits | 1 |
0 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 1 |
.667 | Avg | .333 |