By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 4, Red Sox 3 – Miguel Cabrera’s ninth inning home run, that barely cleared the right field wall, led the Tigers to a win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon.
Cabrera had three hits in the contest for Detroit while Victor Martinez led the way with four hits and two RBIs. James McCann chipped in with a monster home run in the sixth inning.
The Tigers, who clipped Boston 9-8 on Tuesday night, completed the three-game sweep against the Red Sox.
The Red Sox opened the scoring with a run in the first inning before the Tigers responded with two runs in the third to take a 2-1 lead.
Detroit added a run in the sixth to take a 3-1 advantage.
Boston cut its deficit completely, scoring a run in the seventh and eighth inning to tie the game 3-3 before Cabrera launched the game-winning homer.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Michael Fulmer took a no-decision, allowing three runs on seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.
Relief pitcher Bruce Rondon recorded the final out in the eighth to pick up the victory while Justin Wilson notched his first career save.
The Tigers now 54-48 on the season, good for second place in the American League Central Division behind the first-place Cleveland Indians. They are two and a half games behind the Red Sox for the final playoff spot.
Detroit will start a home stand on Friday night against the Houston Astros.
Record: 54-48
Tied for 2nd Place in AL Central Division (4.5 games behind first-place Cleveland)
2.5 games behind Boston for last Wild Card spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 64
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 67
Next Game: 07/29/2016 vs. Houston Astros 7:10 p.m. @ Comerica Park
Hitting stats: Miguel Cabrera HR (21) RBI (60), James McCann HR (6) RBI (25), Victor Martinez 2 RBI (60), Jose Iglesias 2B (17).
Pitching stats: Bruce Rondon W (4-2) .1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K, Justin Wilson SV (28) 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K, Michael Fulmer 7.2 IP 7 H 3 R 3 ER 0 BB 3 K.
