On a cold windy night at Fenway Park the Red Sox and Tigers battled through out the evening as the starting pitchers for both teams struggled out of the gate. But in the end it was Boston that came out of it with a 4-2 win and a doubleheader sweep. The sweep combined with the Yankees loss to the White Sox put them 9 ½ games in front of New York.
The Sox sent Curt Schilling to the hill but he was far from vintage Schilling. In the first Detroit fired out of the chute with a Curtis Granderson double off of Coco Crisp’s glove in left centerfield, Schilling then hit Placido Polanco with a pitch. Gary Sheffield would strike out looking but then Magglio Ordonez walked to load the bases with just one out. Schilling then buckled down and got Carlos Guillen to whiff but Sean Casey put a charge into one sending rightfielder Eric Hinske to the warning track in front of the bullpens to end the inning.
The Sox were actually able to strike first again getting yet another solo run in the first inning. Crisp opened with a single to right and stole second. Alex Cora, who continues to do all the little things, grounded out to Casey at first to move Crisp to third. Kevin Youkilis then singled to left to score Crisp. Manny Ramirez would strike out looking, but a passed ball charged to Detroit catcher Mike Rabelo would send Youk to second. Mike Lowell would walk giving the Sox runners at first and second but Jason Varitek would ground out to Polanco to end the threat.
Detroit would put heat on Schilling again in the second when with one out Rabelo would get a wind blown double to right that fell in front of a diving Hinske. Schilling would strike out Brandon Inge for the second out but once again Schilling would labor. He then walked Granderson and Polanco to load the bases but he would get Sheffield to ground into a fielders choice to Lowell at third to end the threat and keep the score 1-0 Boston.
Detroit which had left 6 runners on base in the first two innings got even in the third when Ordonez lead off with a double to right, Guillen followed with a RBI ground rule double into the rightfield grandstand to score Ordonez. Casey would ground out to short to move Guillen to third, Marcus Thames would strike out swinging and Rabelo grounded out to Youkilis at first with Schilling covering. Schilling was already at 70 pitches and really looking like he didn’t have it together.
For as big a struggle as it was for Schilling at this point Chad Durbin wasn’t much better. He got Manny to strike out for the second time in the third and he would give up a two out single to Varitek but would escape with no damage as Hinske grounded out to third. Durbin was at 68 pitches through 3 innings.
In the fourth the Motowners would jump out and take a 2-1 lead on a lead off solo homerun by Inge. It was originally ruled a single but replay clearly showed the ball hit above the yellow line on the Green Monster. The umpires discussed it and got the call right.
Detroit threatened again in the fifth, when Guillen lead off with his second ground rule double of the game into the bullpen. Casey would fly out to Hinske moving Guillen to third. Thames would then ground to Mike Lowell at third who got Guillen in a run down that would go Lowell to Varitek to Lowell to Schilling to Cora to Youkilis who tagged Guillen out. Thames would get all the way to second on the run down. But that rundown was no where near the play of the inning or the game. Rabelo ripped the ball into right field as the ball sliced toward the pole and the warning track of the rightfield corner Hinske laid out and made a spectacular diving catch that is surely ESPN Web Gem material to end the inning and keep the game at 2-1. Hinske was a bit a shaken on the play but did get up and stayed in the game.
Schilling would last one more inning laboring through six but holding the powerful Detroit offense to just 2 runs on 8 hits with 4 walks and 6 strike outs on 118 pitches. Durbin would also falter in the 6th inning. Granderson would rob Varitek on a diving catch in center, Hinske would get aboard on an error to Inge and when Durbin walked Pena that was his night. He would get yanked after 5 1/3 allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 5 walks and 3 K’s on 108 pitches. Wilfredo Ledezma would come on to pitch and get Dustin Pedroia to pop out to Polanco, but then he’d walk Crisp to load the sacks and Cora would have an infield single on a chopper to second to score Hinske and tie the game at 2-2. Youkilis would then fly out to Ordonez to end the threat.
But the Sox weren’t done as they came right back at a shaky Ledezma in bottom of the 7th. With one out Lowell would single to center, Varitek would force him on a fielders choice to Inge at third and then the defensive hero would become the offensive hero. Hinske would drive a ball into the Red Sox bullpen for his first home since last October first to give the hometown team the 4-2 lead they wouldn’t give up.
Brandon Donnelly, who got the win in relief, would come on to pitch a clean seventh and only allow one hit to Rabelo to start the 8th and get Inge swinging before Javier Lopez would come in and shut the door with a 4-6-3 twin killing.
Hideki Okajima would come on to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth against the same three hitters he faced in game one to record his second save of the season as the Red Sox swept the day-night doubleheader and took 3 of 4 games in the series from the Tigers.
The Sox wrap up the ten game homestand when they start up in interleague play with a three game weekend series against the Atlanta Braves.
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Gordon Edes from the Boston Globe is doing the blogging for 
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