April 23, 2019

G24: Tigers 4, Red Sox 2

Tigers  - 000 300 001 - 4 12  0
Red Sox - 000 000 110 - 2  9  0
The Red Sox squandered opportunity after opportunity in the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader and were swept by the light-hitting Tigers, who totaled 24 hits in the two games, including nine doubles and two home runs.

Boston left a season-high 13 men on base, including five men at third base. (The previous high this season was merely 10.) The Red Sox left three men on in the third and the Tigers promptly scored three runs in the next half-inning. The Red Sox also stranded two men in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. ... LOB-otomy.

This was the first time the Red Sox were swept in a doubleheader since July 20, 2015 in Anaheim (1-11, 3-7). However, doubleheaders are not very common. The Red Sox have played only four doubleheaders those two losses in July 2015. They split with the Royals in 2016, split with the Yankees in 2017, and then swept and split with the Orioles in 2018.

The only bright spots in the game came from three recently-arrived players. Pitchers Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins both made their major league debuts. They pitched the final five innings. They allowed a total of eight hits, but surrendered only one run. (They were helped out by Andrew Benintendi throwing a runner out at second and Mookie Betts gunning down a runner at the plate.) Hernandez struck out four batters in 2.1 innings, including all three outs in the sixth.

The last time two Red Sox pitchers made their debuts in the same game was April 26, 1995, when Frankie Rodriguez and Jeff Pierce each went an inning in a 9-0 win over the Twins.

Michael Chavis (1-for-11 since his first plate appearance) crushed a 2-2 pitch from Victor Alcantara over everything in left for the first home run of his career. That reduced Detroit's lead to 3-2 in the eighth, but it did not spark any further offense.

Hector Velázquez (3.1-3-3-2-5, 55) faced only nine batters through three innings, but lost the plot in the fourth. Two singles and a walk left the bases loaded with one out. Marcus Walden gave up a bases-clearing double to Brandon Dixon, who went 3-for-4.

Benintendi had three hits and was hit by a pitch. Betts walked three times.

The Red Sox are 7 games out of first place.
Spencer Turnbull / Hector Velázquez
Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Moreland, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Chavis, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vázquez, C
Darwinzon Hernandez (#63) is the 26th man on the roster for Game 2.

Bobby Poyner was optioned to Pawtucket and right-hander Travis Lakins (#65) was called up.

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