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Tigers hold off Red Sox

Jun 8, 2014 - 6:25 AM Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Nick Castellanos went 3-for-4 with a solo home run to help the Detroit Tigers to an 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Miguel Cabrera was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Torii Hunter added two hits, an RBI and a run scored for the Tigers, who have won the first two of this set after dropping their previous five.

Max Scherzer (7-2) gave up four runs and 11 hits with a walk and nine strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings for the win.

"When you have nine strikeouts with just one walk you're going to be successful more times than not," said Scherzer. "That's what I hang my hat on and going forward I think I can continue what I accomplished tonight."

Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two RBI and two runs scored for the Red Sox, who have lost their past five games. Jon Lester (6-7) was tagged for five runs on 12 hits in just 4 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.

"We put up four against Scherzer and right there we should have been able to win the game," said Lester. "I flat out didn't get it done and felt like I wasted a good effort by our offense tonight."

An RBI double by Victor Martinez in the first was followed by a Hunter run- scoring single to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 edge.

Rajai Davis plated Austin Jackson in the second, and Castellanos belted a solo homer in the third, his fifth of the season, for a 4-0 lead.

Pedroia got the Red Sox on the board in the fourth with a solo home run, but Eugenio Suarez answered in the home half with his first career homer.

David Ross doubled with two outs in the fifth and Jackie Bradley Jr. chased him home with a single to cut the deficit to 5-2 before Stephen Drew's run- scoring single to left in the sixth made it a two-run game.

Detroit, though, got both runs back in the sixth as Ian Kinsler tripled in Suarez, and Cabrera brought home Kinsler with a single for a 7-3 advantage.

David Ortiz doubled in a run in the Boston seventh, while Bryan Holaday countered with a sac fly in the home half to make it an 8-4 game.

Joe Nathan had trouble closing out the game as he allowed a sac fly from Pedroia and a run-scoring groundout by Ortiz for an 8-6 edge. Grady Sizemore and Daniel Nava followed with back-to-back singles to bring the tying run to first base, but Drew flied out to end the game.

Game Notes

Both teams were efficient with runners in scoring position, as Boston was 3- for-8 while Detroit went 4-for-11. The Red Sox stranded 10 runners and the Tigers nine ... Lester fell to 2-4 in nine career starts against the Tigers ... Scherzer improved to 4-4 in 10 starts against the Red Sox.