Boston — It’s been the one constant in a season of ups and downs for the Tigers. They keep scratching.
"It was rough early," manager AJ Hinch said after the Tigers erupted for four runs in the top of the 10th inning to get out of Fenway Park with an 8-4 win Sunday and a split of the four-game series against the Red Sox. "They put a lot of pressure on us. They were scoring in every inning. ... But you've got to hang in there. You play the whole game."
After surviving a ragged bottom of the ninth, Hinch sent up right-handed hitting Andy Ibáñez to pinch-hit for Colt Keith with runners at first and second in the 10th against Boston lefty Cam Booser.
"I like Andy against every lefty in the league," Hinch said. "He is in the at-bat, he's disciplined and aggressive at the same time and he's going to get a good swing off. I don't love hitting for Colt. We're trying to develop a guy who is going to be in there through it all.
"But in that moment, with Andy being on the bench, such a huge weapon for us, I am going to take the bat away from Colt, because of Andy."
Ibáñez smacked a double to break the tie.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 8, Red Sox 4 (10 innings)
"Their guy was warming up a couple of innings earlier and they told me to get ready," said Ibáñez, through Tigers bilingual interpreter Carlos Guillen. "I started watching video and I noticed he was throwing his cutter a lot. So, I was ready for that pitch."
With two outs and runners on second and third, Javier Báez delivered a two-run single and catcher Carson Kelly an RBI double to give ample cushion.
The postgame celebration seemed unlikely in the early part of the game, especially after the Red Sox chased Casey Mize out of the game in the fourth inning and held a 3-0 lead.
But there were little sparks along the way, several supplied by rookie Wenceel Perez, who had three hits and made a clutch catch with the winning run on third in the ninth, as well as some stout work by the bullpen, that set up the fireworks in the 10th.
"We were having a hard time with their guy," Hinch said of Red Sox starter Brayan Bello. "As they got the lead, the crowd started playing into it. This is as good a home field advantage as there is in the big leagues. But Wenceel seemed to quiet them a little bit with some big hits and creating some opportunities for us."
Gio Urshela started the comeback with a lead-off double in the fifth. He eventually scored on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Perez singled and got to third with one out. Urshela then hit a 266-foot fly ball to left. Third-base coach Joey Cora boldly sent Perez home. The throw from Jarren Duran got to the plate in time, but Perez smartly slid around the plate and touched the back of dish before the tag was applied — 3-2.
In the seventh, after Matt Vierling (two hits) and Riley Greene (two hits) singled and Perez lashed a double to the left-center gap. Vierling scored on the hit and Greene came home on a ground out by Mark Canha.
"I definitely need to be more efficient," said Mize, who endured his third straight short start. "Four innings isn't good enough. Four walks. Long at-bats. That didn't help my pitch count (he was at 82 pitches) and they had a row of lefties coming up.
"Tyler Holton did a great job and our bullpen definitely picked me up. But I gave them too many innings to cover."
Holton restored order, setting down seven straight Red Sox hitters while the Tigers (29-30) before Rafael Devers tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth with a 408-foot homer to the top of the Green Monster in left-center off Alex Faedo.
Not to be overlooked, there were several key defensive plays that kept the Red Sox at bay. Kelly threw out two runners trying to steal second, on both, it was a lightning-quick tag by Báez that got the outs.
"I know we talk about it a ton and it feels like a small thing, but those tags are huge on plays that are coin-flip out or safe," Hinch said. "We did a good job hanging in for a lot of reasons, but our defense pulled us out of a couple of jams."
Urshela, playing first base, made a diving stop with a runner on in the seventh. Keith at second base made a diving grab. And in the ninth, Vierling at third base made a spectacular play behind the bag at third and threw a seed across the diamond to get the second out.
The bottom of the ninth, though, quickly turned into a tightrope walk.
Jason Foley got the last out of the eighth and the first two of the ninth before giving up a single to Rob Refsnyder. Refsnyder had been a key piece in the chess match between Hinch and Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who stacked five straight lefties at the top of his batting order.
Cora wanted Hinch to attack that stack with a lefty in the later innings so he could activate right-handed hitting Refsnyder — using him like Hinch uses Ibáñez. Cora inserted Refsnyder in the seventh against Holton, which is why Hinch countered with right-hander Faedo.
"The last thing you wanted to do (in the ninth) was get to Devers," Hinch said.
So after Refsnyder singled, Hinch brought in lefty Andrew Chafin, expecting Cora to counter with right-handed pinch-hitters. Chafin walked lefty Duran and then right-handed pinch-hitter Jamie Westbrook, a former Toledo Mud Hen, to load the bases. It was Westbrook's first big-league at-bat.
Cora sent up right-handed pinch-hitter Connor Wong, with Devers on deck.
"They had it set up perfectly with Wong getting the biggest at-bat," Hinch said. "There was nothing we could do. We needed strikes and it was set up like that because of a couple walks. AC (Cora) was really disciplined with one of his better hitters. That was a tough spot."
Wong hit a slicing line drive to right field that Perez ran down to end the inning.
"Wenceel ran it down and gave us a chance to put up some runs," Hinch said. "And then we stuck with Chafe. Gutsy win."
Chafin stranded the free runner in the 10th, punching out Devers and right-handed hitting Garrett Cooper.
"Good win, happy flight to Texas," Hinch said.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
