Castellanos helps Tigers upend Sale, Red Sox
DETROIT -- Nick Castellanos squeezed a ground ball through the left side to score Andrew Romine from second base with two outs in the eighth inning Monday and give the Detroit Tigers a 2-1 victory over Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox.
Justin Wilson (1-0) got Detroit's third win in the four-game series after pitching a scoreless eighth inning. Francisco Rodriguez gave up a leadoff single in the ninth but then retired the side to notch his second save.
Sale (0-1), who recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 36th time in his career, got two quick outs before Romine grounded his second double of the game into the left-field corner. Ian Kinsler walked and Castellanos grounded his single to left to break a 1-1 tie.
Sale gave up five hits, walked one and fanned 10 in 7 2/3 innings.
Kinsler slammed a flat curveball from Sale into the seats in left-center field to tie the score at 1-1 with two outs in the sixth. It was his second home run of the season.
Boston picked up an unearned run in the second off Justin Verlander. A leadoff double by Mitch Moreland, a walk plus an error loaded the bases with nobody out. Brock Holt hit into a double play to score the run.
Verlander struggled with his command (112 pitches, 67 strikes) but still managed to get through seven innings, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced. He gave up just three hits, walked two and struck out four.
NOTES: Boston SS Xander Bogaerts, due to return from bereavement leave, had his flight from Aruba cancelled. He is now slated to return to the Red Sox lineup Tuesday against Baltimore. ... LF Justin Upton was a late lineup scratch by Detroit due to upper back tightness. He was replaced in the field by Andrew Romine. ... LHP David Price, out of action since Feb. 28 with elbow soreness, threw a 20-pitch bullpen and will throw another one Wednesday if he feels well. There will be "a progression similar to spring training," manager John Farrell said, before Price can return to the roster. ... Detroit optioned RHP Bruce Rondon (40.50 ERA) to Toledo and purchased the contract of RHP Joe Jimenez from the Triple-A team to replace him.