G61: Red Sox 6, Tigers 0

Tigers  - 000 000 000 - 0  3  1
Red Sox - 200 220 00x - 6 10  0

Steven Wright's (7-2-0-3-6, 96) first start of the season went as well as could possibly be expected. He retired 17 of his final 18 batters, with only two balls hit out of the infield. J.D. Martinez crushed his MLB-leading 20th home run and the Red Sox - the only team with more than 39 wins - won their 42nd game of the year.

The Tigers's only threat of the night came in the top of the first. Wright walked Leonys Martin. Nicholas Castellanos doubled off the Wall and Andrew Benintendi fielded it quickly. Martin tried to score - a stupid gamble with no outs - and was gunned down Benintendi-to-Xander Bogaerts-to-Christian Vazquez. (It was a close play, but the Tigers decided not to challenge the call.) Wright then walked Miguel Cabrera , but got the next two hitters.

After having three baserunners in the first inning, Detroit had only three additional baserunners over the next eight innings. Wright issued a leadoff walk in the second, Castellanos singled with one out in the third, and Dixon Machado singled with two down in the eighth.

The Red Sox scored right away off Artie Lewicki (3.2-5-4-3-2, 71). Benintendi singled and stole second. (He was originally called out, but the call was overturned.) Martinez crushed a 3-2 pitch off the light tower in left-center. 2-0. (On NESN, Dennis Eckersley was unimpressed with Lewicki's "mediocre cheese", saying "You can't get away with a fastball like that against Martinez." Lewicki's fastball was about 90, he put this one right down the middle, and Martinez did his job.)

The Red Sox had the first four batters reached base in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Martinez smashed the ball to third and Jeimer Candelario committed a two-base throwing error. He also hurt his right hand fielding the ball and left the game. Singles by Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez brought in one run and a second run scored when Rafael Devers hit into a double play.

Bogaerts began the fifth with an opposite-field dong. Martinez, Moreland, and Nunez singled, loading the bases. Brock Holt grounded to second and JDM scored. Another walk loaded the bases, but Vazquez grounded into a double play.

The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 7-2, so Boston remains 1 GA.

Artie Lewicki / Steven Wright

Benintendi, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Nunez, 2B
Holt, RF
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C
Bradley, CF

The Red Sox - who are 1.0 GA in the AL East - are back at Fenway Park for three games against the Tigers and White Sox.

This will be Wright's first start since April 29, 2017. He has pitched in six games this year, with a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings.

The Yankees are in Toronto. In yesterday's doubleheader, Aaron Judge went 0-9 with 8 strikeouts, the most whiffs in a doubleheader since strikeouts were officially recorded. MFY manager Aaron Boone: "But he could just as easily have put a big swing on one." (So Judge chose to strike out eight times instead of hitting a few home runs?)

Also:

The Giants swept three games from the Phillies (4-0, 2-0, 6-1), with Philadelphia's only run coming on a home run by Jake Arrieta. It's the first time in baseball history that a team has scored only one run (on a pitcher's home run) while being swept.

The Cubs struck out 24 times on Saturday, the second-most strikeouts by a winning team since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. The record is 26 strikeouts, set by the Brewers on June 8, 2004.