Detroit Tigers Get 10th Straight Road Win After Beating Red Sox
The Detroit Tigers got their 10th straight road win Saturday night with a 6-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox, running their record to 26-12, MLB’s best. Detroit has won 14 of their last 17 games.
Rick Porcello picked up his American League leading seventh win, pitching eight strong innings, allowing six hits, striking out four and walking one. The only run was a solo home run by Xander Bogaerts in the fifth inning. Porcello retired the last eleven hitters he faced. Phil Coke pitched a scoreless ninth.
The 10 straight road wins are the second-longest in franchise history. The record is 17 which is held by the 1984 club, who started the season with an incredible 35-5 record.
Miguel Cabrera hit his 7th home run and had an RBI single as well as one of Detroit’s six doubles. Victor Martinez, who came into the game leading the league in hitting with an average of.336 added a pair of singles. Ian Kinsler, Torii Hunter, Alex Avila and Rajai Davis added RBIs.
The Tigers have the best road record in MLB with a record of 13-4 as reported by the Detroit News. They’ll look to sweep the weekend series in a nationally televised game Sunday night on ESPN.
Detroit has started the season so well in large part to their starting pitching.
Porcello is 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA. Reigning Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer is 6-1 with a league leading ERA of 1.83. Justin Verlander, 2012 Cy Young winner and American League MVP is 5-2 with an ERA of 3.40. Fifth starter Drew Smyly is only 2-2 but has an ERA of 2.70.
Detroit also leads the league with a team batting average of.275. Kinsler, Hunter, Cabrera and Martinez are all hitting over.300.
The Tigers lead the AL Central and have a 6.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins who have a record of 21-20.
First year manager Brad Ausmus seems to have pushed the right buttons early in the season. Davis, who despite not playing every day, is tied for the league lead in stolen bases. He, along with Kinsler, who came over in a trade for Prince Fielder provide the Tigers with some much needed speed. They are not just a station to station team anymore.
The last time Porcello pitched at Fenway Park he took the loss in game 2 of the 2013 American League Championship series, relieving Joaquin Benoit after Benoit gave up a grand slam to David Ortiz.
Fenway has not given Porcello great memories. His first start there in 2009, Kevin Youkillis charged the mound on him igniting a brawl that led to both of their ejections mlb.com reported.
Annibal Sanchez, fresh off a stint on the disabled list, who won the AL ERA crown last year faces Boston’s Jake Peavy in the series finale Sunday.
[Image via mlb.com]
