Tigers 7, Red Sox 6
DETROIT -- Victor Martinez cracked a two-run home run into the right-field seats with two outs in the seventh inning Saturday night to give the Detroit Tigers a 7-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Left-hander Blaine Hardy (4-2), who gave up a two-run single to David Ortiz in the top of the seventh that gave Boston a 6-5 lead, gave up two hits and a walk while getting four outs to gain the win.
Right-hander Junichi Tazawa (2-5) gave up a two-out single to left to second baseman Ian Kinsler before yielding Martinez's ninth home run of the season and third in three games.
Right-hander Bruce Rondon pitched the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Kinsler went 3-for-4 and scored twice for Detroit (54-56), and catcher James McCann also had three hits. Left fielder Rajai Davis also hit a two-run homer.
Designated hitter David Ortiz went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for Boston (49-62), and catcher Blake Swihart went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Ortiz doubled to lead off the second inning, advanced on a groundout to first and scored the first run on first baseman Travis Shaw's sacrifice fly to center field.
Boston inched up 2-0 in the third, scoring when right-hander Alfredo Simon was tardy getting off the mound to cover first on a single by second baseman Brock Holt. That one-out single let Swihart go to third, and he scored on a forceout hit by right fielder Rusney Castillo.
In the fifth inning, Davis slammed a 2-2 fastball over the fence in left-center for Detroit. His third home run of the season tied the score.
Ortiz, whose $11 million option for 2016 vested with his first plate appearance, broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with a one-out solo home run -- his second homer in two games and 23rd of the season.
In the bottom of the sixth, right fielder J.D. Martinez's double into the left-field corner scored Kinsler. Martinez stopped at third on Castellanos' single to short.
Boston starter Wade Miley's wild pitch with runners on first and third let in the go-ahead run, and McCann bounced a double over third to score third baseman Nick Castellanos and put Detroit up 5-3.
In the seventh, Castillo beat out a single to third with runners at the corners. Hardy relieved Simon to face Ortiz with two outs and the bases loaded, and Ortiz grounded a 1-2 fastball up the middle for a two-run single to put his team back on top, 6-5.
NOTES: Boston LF Hanley Ramirez, who has been battling various ailments, was a late scratch. He was replaced by LF Alejandro De Aza. ... Detroit C James McCann, involved in a dugout dustup Friday with SS Jose Iglesias, is showing leadership qualities, according to manager Brad Ausmus. "Above all else, he cares about the team, his teammates and winning more than he cares about himself," Asmus said. "Those are pretty much the qualities you want." ... The Red Sox called up INF Deven Marrero from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill the vacancy created by the trade of 1B Mike Napoli to Texas. Marrero, called up briefly earlier this season, was hitting .237 in 78 games with Pawtucket.