By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 4, Red Sox 2 – Justin Verlander picked up his 10th win of the season as the Tigers opened their three-game road series against the Boston Red Sox with a victory on Monday night.
Verlander allowed one run on five hits while striking out five batters in six innings.
Tigers’ closer Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 28th save of the season, recording the final four outs for Detroit.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the second inning before Detroit responded with four unanswered runs.
The Tigers scored two in the sixth inning, one in the seventh and one in the eighth.
Boston closed out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Jose Iglesias paced the Tigers with two hits, including a two-run homer while Victor Martinez and James McCann each had an RBI.
Nick Castellanos added a double for Detroit while Justin Upton chipped in with a triple.
The Red Sox were led in a losing effort by Jackie Bradley and Sandy Leon with two hits a piece while Travis Shaw had a double and an RBI.
The Tigers now 52-48 on the season, good for second place in the American League Central Division behind the first-place Cleveland Indians. They are four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final playoff spot.
Record: 52-48
Tied for 2nd Place in AL Central Division (5.5 games behind first-place Cleveland)
4 games behind Toronto for last Wild Card spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 67
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 70
Next Game: 07/26/2016 @ Boston Red Sox 7:10 p.m. @ Fenway Park
Hitting stats: Jose Iglesias HR (4) 2 RBI (23), Victor Martinez RBI (57), James McCann RBI (24), Nick Castellanos 2B (22), Justin Upton 3B (2).
Pitching stats: Justin Verlander W (10-6) 6 IP 5 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 5 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (28) 1.1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K.
