The Boston Red Sox Monday, April 10, 2017

* The Boston Globe

Red Sox can feel better after this win

Nick Cafardo

DETROIT — This isn’t a team that’s felt sorry for itself, but if the Red Sox had lost Sunday’s game to the Tigers, that feeling might have crept in.

Sunday’s win simply changed the entire complexion of things. The outlook was bright again. I’m never going to say that a win in Game 5 of the season is huge, but it was on this day, given the plight of the team.

Instead of falling to 2-3 with three straight losses, the Sox are 3-2 following a 7-5 win over the Tigers, and now they’ll take their chance with ace Chris Sale opposing the always tough Justin Verlander in a Monday matinee at Comerica Park.

“We’re going up against a bunch of things that are going around our clubhouse right now,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “But the one thing that hasn’t emerged was anybody talking about excuses. We know what’s in front of us. We know how people feel, and there are a number of guys who aren’t 100 percent, but there’s a lot of fight in this group.”

Even before Sunday’s game, as one player (Betts) returned, another (Jackie Bradley Jr.) went down. It’s been a vicious cycle five games into the 2017 season. Between sickness and bereavement and now Bradley’s ailing knee, it’s been difficult for the Red Sox to field their regular lineup.

After beating the Pirates twice to open the season, the Red Sox had lost two straight to the Tigers and were looking at a third loss before a four-run rally in the eighth fueled by Sandy Leon’s two-run single.

Heading into the Red Sox clubhouse is perilous these days. Reporters were even seen interviewing Andrew Benintendi from a distance Saturday after the left fielder had vomited in the sixth inning of the game. Farrell hasn’t felt well. The coaches have all gone through some phase of the sickness. Some have been sick and gotten better. Brock Holt came back to DH, but he feels awful.

With lefthander Daniel Norris starting for Detroit on Sunday, the Red Sox weren’t able to match up as they wanted.

The plan from the start has been that Mitch Moreland would sit against tough lefties and Hanley Ramirez would play first base while Chris Young DH’d. Obviously, if Xander Bogaerts wasn’t on bereavement leave he’d be playing shortstop instead of lefthanded-hitting Marco Hernandez, although Hernandez did have three hits.

Why didn’t Red Sox players get flu shots? It’s like with everyone else. You’re offered one, but it’s up to you whether you want to get one. You can’t make players get flu shots. When you’re young and a pro athlete, the last thing you think about is getting the flu. Maybe now players will reconsider when the shots are offered next spring.

A sickness isn’t what Rick Porcello was dealing with Sunday.

Norris pitched well for the Tigers, but Porcello, the defending Cy Young Award winner pitching against his former team, should have carried the day. He didn’t.

This has been a strange offensive season given the lineup irregularities. In the 47 innings the Red Sox have batted this season, they have scored in eight innings. They scored in four innings Sunday.

And the starting pitching isn’t where it should be or probably will be.

Steven Wright gave up four runs in his 6⅔ innings Friday. Certainly not horrible, but costly nonetheless in a one-run loss. Eduardo Rodriguez was breezing along Saturday until he gave up three of his four runs in the fifth, which, given the way the Sox offense was going, was a death knell. And Porcello being the reigning Cy Young winner . . . well, you expect better than three earned runs (four runs) and 11 hits over six-plus innings.

You also expect better from the bullpen.

Matt Barnes gave the bullpen a shot in the arm with two scoreless innings Sunday, but when you see Heath Hembree and Joe Kelly walk four batters with two outs in the eighth inning Friday, that is simply a recipe for disaster — and it was.

On Sunday, Craig Kimbrel gave us a heart-attack save after he walked the first two batters in the ninth and Victor Martinez hit a towering foul ball down the right-field line, followed by a sharp RBI single.

But Kimbrel rebounded and got the final two outs via strikeout with 98-mile-per-hour pitches.

The excellent starting pitching the Sox planned on hasn’t clicked yet, and with David Price out, it may not for a while. The bullpen got Barnes back following his bereavement leave after the death of his grandmother, and he was key in holding things in place Sunday while the offense did its thing.

And the lineup is what it is.

Benintendi stroked an RBI single in the seventh, but we haven’t seen him really break out yet.

Betts seemed a bit out of synch as he got back into the swing of things after missing three games. Pablo Sandoval had the big homer Friday but is hitting just .150. Moreland started 0 for 12 but had an RBI double Sunday. The Red Sox should thank the Washington Nationals again for the gift of Sandy Leon.

And so the Red Sox turn their bloodshot eyes, their congested chests, and their uneasy stomachs to Sale to hopefully leave here with a much-needed split.

Matt Barnes helps pick up Red Sox in his return

Peter Abraham

DETROIT — Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes prepared himself as best he could for the death of his grandmother. Barbara Bennett had been fighting cancer for five years and he knew the time was drawing near.

Every chance he had in the offseason, Barnes made sure he spent time with her before going off to spring training.

“She was the last grandparent I had,” Barnes said Sunday. “Her house was where we spent every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. For probably 50, 60 years, that was where everybody went. She was the matriarch.”

It was at that house in upstate New York where the family gathered again over the weekend to celebrate Bennett’s life. As the Red Sox played in Detroit, Barnes consoled his mother and aunts and remembered better times.

“She got to see me play in the big leagues, a couple of games. That meant a lot,” he said.

All that was on Barnes’s mind as he drove back to Boston on Saturday afternoon to catch a flight. As much as he loves baseball, leaving his family behind to go play a game didn’t seem right.

“I’ll be honest, it was one of the last things that I wanted to do, was to get on a plane and go flying after 3½ hours of my grandma’s funeral.”

But professional responsibilities can be paused for only so long. Barnes had even played catch with his cousin Friday to stay sharp.

“We’re in a unique position,” Barnes said. “It’s not just taking a day off from work. We’re here to win games and then win the World Series.”

Barnes walked into the clubhouse Sunday morning, the routine of pregame preparations somehow comforting. Then he was needed in the seventh inning with the Red Sox down by a run against the Tigers.

With a runner on first base, the righthander was called out of the bullpen to face four-time All-Star Victor Martinez and struck him out.

Barnes finished off the inning, then watched from the dugout as the Red Sox scored four runs in the eighth inning to take the lead. He worked a scoreless eighth with two more strikeouts, and was the winning pitcher in a 7-5 victory.

“This one meant a lot to me,” Barnes said later. “To come back and win like that . . . I’m just glad it happened.”

For far less emotional reasons, it meant a lot to all of the Red Sox. They lost the first two games of the series playing with a spring training-like roster.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, like Barnes, returned home following the death of his grandmother. Designated hitter Hanley Ramirez stayed back in Boston with the flu. Right fielder Mookie Betts returned from the flu Sunday, but center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. couldn’t play because of a knee injury.

“We’re going up against a bunch of things that are around our clubhouse right now,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “The one thing that hasn’t emerged was anybody talking about any excuses . . . a lot of fight in this group.”

In a 3-3 game, Sox starter Rick Porcello allowed a home run by Nick Castellanos in the seventh inning. When Miguel Cabrera singled, Barnes came in and kept the deficit at a run.

The Sox, who hadn’t led all game, broke through with four runs in the eighth inning.

Facing Bruce Rondon, Betts drew a walk. Chris Young followed with a single to left field and Betts took a hard turn around second. Left fielder Justin Upton made a wild throw that allowed both runners to move up.

Betts, playing for the first time since Opening Day, was 0 for 3 but drew two walks.

Detroit manager Brad Ausmus intentionally walked Mitch Moreland to load the bases with no outs.

The Red Sox, desperate for a big inning, took advantage. Facing lefthander Kyle Ryan, pinch hitter Brock Holt walked on five pitches to force in the tying run. Sandy Leon then knocked a soft single into right- center field and two more runs scored.

A fourth run scored when Pablo Sandoval grounded into a double play.

Leon is 7 for 16 with three extra-base hits and a team-leading five RBIs in four games. He was inconsistent at the plate for much of spring training, but has come out hot.

Unlike past seasons, Leon did not play winter ball in Venezuela. That caused him to need more time to get his swing back. Farrell never wavered, saying Leon was his starter.

“Playing four times a week, five times a week, I think that helps,” Leon said. “You start to swing at strikes and let it happen. . . . John was right.”

Said Farrell: “He’s taken it; he’s earned it. I think we all have trust in Sandy, particularly the guys who walk to the mound.”

Craig Kimbrel walked the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth inning, bringing Cabrera to the plate as the tying run. Cabrera, whose bat has looked slow all series, struck out swinging at a 99 mile-per-hour fastball.

Martinez singled to right field, driving in a run. But Kimbrel struck out Upton and Tyler Collins to end it.

Barnes was the last player out of the clubhouse, a man eager for a good night of sleep.

“Long few days,” he said. “This game took my mind off a lot of things.”

Jackie Bradley Jr. likely to avoid disabled list

Peter Abraham

DETROIT — Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was out of the Red Sox lineup on Sunday with a sprained ligament in his right knee and on Monday will return to Boston for further examination.

Bradley tripped rounding first base in the ninth inning on Saturday and fell awkwardly to the dirt. A postgame examination revealed no damage but the Sox had Bradley taken for an MRI on Sunday because of soreness and swelling.

The test showed inflammation, and Bradley will get a more complete workup on Monday with team orthopedist Dr. Peter Asnis.

“I feel a lot better,” Bradley said after the Sox beat the Tigers, 7-5. “Already been getting treatment on it and going in the right direction.”

Bradley does not feel he will need to go on the disabled list.

“I feel I can move around pretty good. I think that’s why they want the doctors to see it and kind of determine how much leeway they’re going to let me [have].”

The Red Sox started Steve Selsky in center field Sunday. He was 1 for 3 with a double before being pinch hit for in the eighth inning. It was Selsky’s third career start in center. Bradley has gotten off to a good start, hitting .286 with a .782 OPS through four games and making a series of outstanding plays in center field, one of them coming Saturday when he crashed into the wall making a catch.

Timely challenge The Red Sox used a replay challenge to help score the tying run in the seventh inning.

With Marco Hernandez on first base, Dustin Pedroia grounded into what appeared to be a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. But several people in the Sox dugout saw that second baseman Ian Kinsler never touched the base.

Replay coordinator J.T. Watkins confirmed that and the call was overturned.

With Hernandez at second, Andrew Benintendi singled to left field and it was 3-3.

Pair of aces The final game of the series features two of the best pitchers in the game, Chris Sale and Justin Verlander.

Sale threw seven shutout innings in his Red Sox debut on Wednesday. He is 8-7 with a 3.05 earned run average in 29 career appearances against Detroit, 19 of them starts. He is 7-4 with a 2.66 ERA on his last 16 starts against the Tigers.

Verlander is 5-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 15 career starts against the Sox. He has not allowed a home run by a Red Sox player since David Ortiz connected on May 19, 2011.

In four previous head-to-head matchups, Verlander’s Tigers beat Sale’s White Sox all four times. But Sale had a 2.89 ERA in those games.

Johnson recovering Triple A Pawtucket lefthander Brian Johnson was struck in the head by a batted ball in the fifth inning of Saturday night’s game at Lehigh Valley.

Johnson left the game but did not lose consciousness.

In 2012, Johnson was hit in the face by a line drive while pitching for Single A Lowell in a game played at Fenway Park and did not pitch again that season.

In 2011, while pitching for the University of Florida, Johnson was knocked unconscious when catcher Mike Zunino’s throw to second base hit him in the back of the head.

Farrell exchanged text messages with Johnson on Sunday. The pitcher, he said, expects to make his next start. A CT scan revealed no injury.

Via Twitter, Johnson reached out to those who expressed concern.

“Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and kind words,” he wrote. “All is good. Looking forward to getting back out there!”

Steady start Pedroia has hit safely in all five games . . . Craig Kimbrel has converted his last 21 save chances . . . Mookie Betts has not struck out in his last 87 plate appearances. It’s the longest such streak for a Sox player since Hall of Famer Wade Boggs went 107 plate appearances in 1991 . . . Rick Porcello has pitched at least six innings in 20 consecutive starts . . . After an 0-for-12 start to the season, Mitch Moreland is 5 for 8 with two doubles and two walks.

Roster shuffle With righthanded reliever Matt Barnes coming off bereavement leave, the Sox optioned righthanded reliever Noe Ramirez to Triple A Pawtucket . . . Joe Kelly rejoined the team after missing Saturday’s game with the flu. But the righthander still looked a bit wan. “He’s not 100 percent after the amount of vomiting that went on,” Farrell said . . . Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, away on bereavement leave, is scheduled to rejoin the team on Monday for the final game of the series . . . Hanley Ramirez, who stayed in Boston because of the flu, is feeling better and might work out at Fenway Park on Monday . . . Lefthander reliever Robbie Ross Jr., who went on the disabled list because of the flu, rejoined the team to start throwing again. Ross can be activated on Thursday . . . NESN play-by-plan man Dave O’Brien, who missed part of Saturday’s game because of illness, was back behind the microphone.

* The Boston Herald

Sandy Leon’s bat silences critics, or at least this one

Michael Silverman

DETROIT — Sandy Leon really knows how to make an entrance.

And right now, he is starting his 2017 season with the same bang, splash and sis-boom-bah that signaled his arrival last June.

So what that his production fell off from mid-August through September, into the playoffs and into the first half of this spring training.

It’s all about the bright beginnings and fast starts with Leon, and yesterday he handed the Red Sox a key win with his game-winning two-run single in the eighth inning of a 7-5 victory against the Detroit Tigers.

He’s a Red Sox hero again.

We’re only five games into the season, but Leon (who’s played four) sits high atop the Red Sox’ leaderboards with a dozen total bases, five RBI, a .438 batting average and is tied for the team high in home runs — with one.

It’s early, obviously, but Leon’s all about first impressions.

In 2017, he’s making another strong one.

“I’m feeling really good, just trying to help the team by keeping it simple and swinging at good pitches, don’t try to be crazy, don’t try to be the hero, just try to get a good swing in and let good things happen,” Leon said.

It was only toward the last two weeks to 10 days before the end of spring training before Leon began to settle into a rhythm at the plate. That’s true for most catchers, who are used on an every-other-day basis and are much more focused on establishing a relationship with an array of pitchers, many of them new.

But with Leon, it felt different, because the switch hitter had slumped so dramatically in the second half of 2016.

Remember, the plot line of his tumbling OPS from June, July, August and September resembled the slant of playground slide, but with a sudden, even steeper drop at the end: 1.243, .956, .893, .539. And then came the playoffs, when he had one hit in 10 at-bats.

He was flailing then and he was flailing in spring training, too. With Christian Vazquez looking so sharp defensively and whacking the ball once or twice, I all but demanded Vazquez take over for Leon as the everyday catcher.

It turns out that I could have been wrong.

Leon began to hit again, and he hasn’t stopped.

It feels like June 2016 (.467 in seven games) all over again.

“I felt good at end of spring training, I never felt better,” Leon said. “I didn’t play last year that bad but for the first few weeks of spring training my timing was off and then last couple of games I felt really good. Like right now, I feel really good at the plate. I’m starting to keep it simple.”

Manager John Farrell was never all that concerned about Leon’s offense last year, or especially in this year’s spring training.

“Catchers are at a disadvantage,” said Farrell. “We had a three-catcher rotation to start games, and they’re getting two at-bats up until the last two weeks when minor league games (begin), you can take advantage of those and get a high number of at-bats. We just felt like, through repetition, (it helped) to get his timing. . . . But certainly what he did last year, that’s not a fluke, that’s a large number of at-bats last year that he was very productive, and to see what he’s doing from both sides of the plate is certainly encouraging.”

The sample size is truly way too small to draw a grand conclusion, but after his bat led the Red Sox to a win that already feels critical, it’s completely fair to give Leon his props.

Whether or not he pulls off the same second-half fade at the plate doesn’t matter.

He’s got it going now, and his manager is satisfied that his trust in Leon is being rewarded once again.

“He’s taken it,” said Farrell of Leon coming through in the competition with Vazquez and overall steadiness. “He’s earned it. We all have trust in Sandy, particularly the guys that walk to the mound, and that goes a long way with getting the opportunity to start, but he’s handled the opportunity tremendously.”

Leon appreciates Farrell’s faith. It adds up.

“I have a lot of faith in God, too, so that helps a lot, too,” Leon said. “I just try to do my job and help the team, whatever I can do, just bunt, move the runner over, just keeping it close behind the plate, doing whatever I can to help the team.”

The Red Sox will take Leon’s heroics when they can get them.

Right now, his hero’s cape fits him perfectly.

Red Sox find satisfaction in Rick Porcello dodging a bullet

Michael Silverman

DETROIT — Rick Porcello dodged more than one bullet yesterday.

If not for the Red Sox’ four-run rally in the eighth inning, Porcello likely would have been tagged with a loss after pitching OK-but-not-great in his second start of the season.

In the long run, however, it was avoiding what looked like an injury in the fourth inning. He pulled up short and began hopping and limping after racing to back-up a throw from the outfield got tangled up with third base umpire Jerry Layne. Manager John Farrell and the training staff bolted out of the dugout, but after a couple of practice throws, Porcello looked fine.

A loss would have been bad, but not the end of the world.

Given how many health issues this team has, staying healthy was far more important.

“I kind of landed awkwardly — I was going back to back up the base and was watching the ball and didn’t see (Layne),” Porcello said. “I heard him say something and then I tried to move and just kind of landed awkwardly and scared me more than anything, but I’m good to go.”

Said Farrell: “I saw it unfold. It was an awkward movement on his part to try to avoid a collision down there, but he threw the extra pitch and didn’t feel anything and continued.”

At that point in the game, the Tigers held a 3-2 lead after four innings. Porcello began to settle in after that and pitched better, retiring six of the next seven batters. But after the Red Sox tied it in the top of the seventh, Porcello gave the Tigers another advantage after Nicholas Castellanos hit a leadoff homer in the seventh. One infield single later, Porcello was done for the day after 102 pitches.

“After about the fourth inning where they put together a couple of base hits, he threw a lot of strikes,” Farrell said. “They swung early in the count, particularly in the first couple, three innings, but then he went to some more offspeed and he was able to slow them down, settle in a little bit. He was still in good shape from a strength standpoint going out to start the seventh, but a lot of strikes forced them to swing the bat and kept us in the ballgame deep.”

Porcello allowed 11 hits over his six-plus innings. He allowed three earned runs, with one walk and eight strikeouts. He extended his streak of throwing at least six innings to 20 straight starts, the longest streak in the majors. His streak of quality starts ended at 14.

“I felt OK, good ballclub, good lineup, definitely battled all the way through and really happy we came out on top,” said Porcello, who ultimated got no decision in the Red Sox’ 7-5 victory. “Some things I could have done better, could have executed some pitches better. They really swung the bats well. I felt like some of the outs I got were pretty loud outs so overall really happy to come out here with a win.”

Red Sox notebook: Swelled-up knee sidelines Jackie Bradley Jr.

Chad Jennings

DETROIT — On Saturday afternoon, Jackie Bradley Jr. declared himself built like Secretariat. It seems he woke up yesterday morning feeling a little more like Barbaro.

With fresh swelling and soreness in his right knee, Bradley went for an MRI that revealed a sprained ligament. He was held out of the lineup and will head back to Boston for a more thorough examination today.

Whether he lands on the disabled list remains undetermined.

“I feel like I can (avoid the DL),” Bradley said. “I feel like I can move around pretty good. I think that’s why they want to get the doctor to see it so they can kind of determine how much leeway they’re going to let me (have).”

Bradley hurt himself running out a fly ball Saturday. He stumbled around first base, tumbled to the ground and was checked by the trainers on the field. He walked off the field under his own power, initial tests were encouraging and Bradley declared that he was “all good” and built like history’s most famous thoroughbred.

The center fielder was still light-hearted yesterday morning, and even lightly chased Chris Young through the clubhouse at one point.

“I feel a lot better,” he said. “Initial diagnosis (is a sprain), and I’ve already kind of been getting treatment on it, and we’re going in the right direction.”

The Red Sox will determine the next step after team physician Dr. Peter Asnis examines the injury.

“Right now, there’s no determination or decision about his roster status,” manager John Farrell. “But precautionary, we want to be sure we take every measure available to us.”

Sick-ward update

Mookie Betts was back in the lineup for the first time since Opening Day, the latest Red Sox player to return from a flu bug that’s decimated the clubhouse. Andrew Benintendi was also back in left field after giving the team a mild scare when he threw up Saturday.

“He actually felt better this morning than he felt at the conclusion of the game yesterday,” Farrell said. “He’s ready to go.”

Joe Kelly was in the clubhouse after being sent back to the hotel with flu-like symptoms Saturday, but the reliever was not available unless absolutely necessary.

“He’s not 100 percent after the amount of vomiting that went on yesterday,” Farrell said.

Back in Boston, Hanley Ramirez is up and moving around after being hit hard by a full-blown case of influenza. He will not join the Red Sox in Detroit for the series finale, but the team hopes to have the designated hitter go through some baseball activity at Fenway Park today.

“That would be probably the best-case scenario,” Farrell said.

Barnes delivers

Set-up man Matt Barnes returned from a three-day stint on the bereavement list and pitched two scoreless innings, doing what three different relievers could not do Friday. He picked up the win and bridged the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel.

“I’ll be honest: It was one of the last things that I wanted to do was to get on a plane and go flying after 31⁄2 hours at my grandma’s funeral yesterday morning,” Barnes said. “But it’s great to be back with the team. This is kind of one of those things, when you’re going through something that that’s difficult, it’s almost nice to get back to a normal schedule as much as you can. That doesn’t help you forget it, but it kind of helps ease the pain a little bit with it.”

The Sox will get another player back from bereavement today when shortstop Xander Bogaerts rejoins the team. To make room on the roster for Barnes, reliever Noe Ramirez was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Johnson optimistic

Triple-A starter Brian Johnson was hit in the head by a line drive Saturday, but he walked off the field under his own power and seems on track to make his next start.

“Traded some messages with him this morning,” Farrell said. “He’s upbeat. He’s looking forward to getting back on the mound, taking his regular turn. The CT scan he went through was clean. There (were) no fractures of any kind.”

In 2012, Johnson was hit in the face by a liner while with Single-A Lowell. . . .

The Sox faced a left-handed starter for the first time this season and Chris Young was the designated hitter in the cleanup spot. Young went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs. . . .

With Bradley out of the lineup, Steve Selsky got the start in center field. Farrell said he was impressed with Selsky’s routes and arm in spring training. Selsky doubled in three at-bats. . . .

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia has at least one hit in all five games.

Red Sox get better as key players return for 7-5 win over Tigers in Detroit

Chad Jennings

DETROIT — The Red Sox have been sick, and they’ve been mourning, and they’ve occasionally played pretty bad baseball during this first week of the season.

But yesterday, things began to look a little bit better.

Matt Barnes returned from his grandmother’s funeral and instantly became the set-up man the team needed earlier in previous games. Mookie Betts returned from an insufferable flu bug and drew the walk that started an eighth-inning rally. Craig Kimbrel threw 98-mph fastballs to escape a jam in the ninth, and the Red Sox snapped a two-game losing streak with a 7-5 win against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

They’ll try to split this four-game series in today’s finale.

“We’re going up against a bunch of things that are around our clubhouse right now,” manager John Farrell said. “The one thing that hasn’t emerged was anybody talking about any excuses. We know what’s in front of us. We know how people feel and the number of guys that aren’t 100 percent, but there’s a lot of fight in this group.”

This was the Sox’ second eighth-inning comeback of the series, but Friday’s didn’t hold up because three different relievers couldn’t hold a lead in the eighth. No such problem this time.

Barnes struck out three in two scoreless innings to get the win, bridging the gap to Kimbrel, who got his second save despite two walks to start the ninth. Barnes had played catch with his cousin Saturday to stay sharp before flying to rejoin the team.

“It’s nice to be back just for that,” Barnes said. “It’s nice to get a win today with the team. Hopefully we can keep that rolling, get another one tomorrow with (Chris) Sale on the mound, and head home.”

For most of the afternoon, the Red Sox and Tigers traded runs, but the top of the eighth started with Betts’ drawing his second walk of the game. He hadn’t played since Opening Day.

“I felt like everything was kind of delayed or whatever, and timing wasn’t there,” Betts said. “But once you’re out there competing, there’s no excuses. There’s no anything. You do what you can.”

A single and intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. When Brock Holt pinch-hit, the Tigers brought in a lefty to face him, and Holt drew a five-pitch walk to tie the game at 4.

It was Sandy Leon — the Red Sox’ unlikely offensive juggernaut the first week of the season — who delivered the big blow with a go-ahead, two-run single. Another run scored on a double play.

“Particularly the way this series has gone, I couldn’t be more proud of the way we once again came back,” Farrell said.

With Jackie Bradley Jr. sidelined by a knee injury and Hanley Ramirez still sick in Boston, the lineup remains nowhere near 100 percent, but shortstop Xander Bogaerts is scheduled to come off the bereavement list today to put another everyday player back in place.

Reliever Robbie Ross Jr. is back in the clubhouse, though he’s not eligible to come off the disabled list just yet, and Drew Pomeranz is scheduled to come off the DL tomorrow to make his first start of the season.

The Sox even avoided a serious injury when starter Rick Porcello came up limping while backing up third base on a fly ball to right. Porcello stayed in the game to strike out five of the next 10 batters, making this his 20th consecutive start of at least six innings.

“We’ve got half our squad here, practically,” Porcello said. “We’ve been in every ballgame, and we’re going to keep fighting. So, proud of the way the guys are playing and working through. Even some of the guys out there playing sick right now. So just keep grinding.”

For once, it began to feel like the Red Sox were turning a corner. Sick players were getting healthy, missing players were coming back sharp, and the team was able to get a late lead and keep it.

“It’s good, feels good,” Betts said. “Nobody wants to be at home watching.”

* The Providence Journal

Red Sox bet Andrew Benintendi can join Mount Rushmore of left fielders

Tim Britton

The high socks lack the flair of old-school stirrups, and he’s donning batting gloves instead of going with the bare hands. But in just about every other way, the shot of Andrew Benintendi’s follow-through from his Opening Day home run is the spitting image of Carl Yastrzemski.

The hands finish high and together, the left arm straight across the chest, right above the team name on the jersey. The hips have cleared the hitting zone, and the right leg is nearly straight, the toes of the spikes off the ground. It’s almost eerie.

For a place that has entered its 107th season and which occupies a triangle of land in Boston, Fenway Park’s charm and history reside largely in the small portion of it that is left field.

Left field is where the Green Monster sets Fenway apart from every other professional stadium — aside from the ones imitating it. Left field is where the manual scoreboard has resisted the overtures of modernity that permeate the ballpark. Left field is where Carlton Fisk hit the most famous home run in franchise history.

And left field is where, for much of the franchise’s history, its icons have played.

Left field is The Kid and Jim Ed, it’s Yaz and Manny. The quartet of Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Yastrzemski and Manny Ramirez has combined for four MVPs, three Triple Crowns, 10 batting titles and 53 All-Star appearances while with the Red Sox. They compiled a total of 1,629 Red Sox home runs.

The Red Sox hope, soon enough, a Mount Rushmore of left fielders can become a Fab Five. They hope Andrew Benintendi can join that club.

“Obviously I’ve heard about the greats who’ve played there,” said Benintendi, who at 22 is barely old enough to remember Ramirez’s tenure with Boston. “Some big shoes to fill. I’m going to do my best to hopefully do well.”

Those shoes have gotten smaller in the decade since Ramirez was dealt away. The door in the Green Monster might as well revolve: Benintendi is the 10th different Red Sox player to start on Opening Day in left field over the last 10 years. Ramirez is the last to be there on consecutive Opening Days — the longest stretch of year-after-year turnover at any position in Red Sox history.

Benintendi appears poised to change that. His similarities to Yastrzemski extend beyond pure left-handed swings. Like Yaz, Benintendi skipped Triple-A in making his Red Sox debut in his age-21 season. This year, he became the youngest Opening Day left fielder for Boston since Yastrzemski in 1962 — the second of Yaz’s 22 Opening Day starts. The two are even built similarly, both falling shy of 6 feet tall.

In his short cameo after being called up straight from Portland last season, Benintendi displayed a poise beyond his years and an adaptability that bodes well for the Boston spotlight.

He also showed off that swing.

“His swing is so effortless and smooth,” manager John Farrell said after Benintendi became the second- youngest Red Sox to homer on Opening Day in the last 50 years. “There’s such great timing and fluidity to the swing. He creates easy power.”

Indeed, that swing is how a hitter of Benintendi’s relatively pedestrian build can lead the NCAA in home runs as a sophomore at the University of Arkansas. It’s how a 22-year-old can emerge as a legitimate option to make up for the production lost with David Ortiz’s retirement.

This can all be a bit heady for a player who, we remind you, has 39 games of major-league experience and has never recorded an extra-base hit off a left-handed pitcher. He would not be the first Boston prospect to fail to live up to breathless expectations.

But if that swing is what has gotten Benintendi to the majors so quickly, it might be his demeanor that allows him to stay here for a while. The former first-round pick has described his mindset as one of “quiet confidence,” and in a limited time he hasn’t appeared prone to self-doubt or sensitive to the expectations or criticisms of outsiders.

“You just kind of let it go in one ear, out the other. People like to talk about it,” he said of the hype entering the season. “I don’t feel any pressure. I just go out there, play well, and the main goal is to win. When you do that, people will be happy.”

Matt Barnes seizes role as primary setup reliever in unstable Red Sox bullpen

Brian MacPherson

DETROIT -- Matt Barnes didn’t get to watch much of the implosion of the Red Sox bullpen on Friday at Comerica Park. Barnes was in upstate New York, having skipped the first two games in Detroit to be with his family for his grandmother’s funeral on Saturday morning. He watched most of the game on his iPad, he said, but had turned it off before Heath Hembree, Robby Scott and Joe Kelly frittered away what should have been an uplifting come-from-behind win.

Neither Hembree nor Scott nor Kelly pitched after Boston again rallied against the Detroit bullpen on Sunday, taking a lead in the late innings. Barnes ensured they didn’t have to. In doing so, he cemented his place as Boston’s primary setup reliever -- certainly while offseason acquisition Tyler Thornburg is out with a shoulder injury, perhaps even after Thornburg returns.

Barnes struck out three in two emphatic innings of relief behind Rick Porcello on Sunday, stranding one inherited runner and then stranding another runner in scoring position an inning later. The best pitch he threw was a hammer of a full-count curveball he dropped on Victor Martinez after three straight fastballs. He has struck out five and walked one in 3 2/3 innings pitched in three appearances, and he hasn’t been charged with an earned run.

“A guy that’s maybe a little bit more seasoned than some others in some of those big spots, he’s going to be a pivotal guy in our bullpen,” Farrell said.

Barnes didn’t get to throw much while he was away from the Red Sox for three days. He worked out and played catch at Fenway Park on Thursday, the day the Boston-Pittsburgh series finale was washed out, and then he played catch with a cousin in New York on Saturday before he drove back to Boston.

It was the return to the Red Sox and the return to his routine that helped Barnes get past the loss of his grandmother.

“That doesn’t help you forget it,” he said, “but it helps ease the pain a little bit with it.”

In terms of being prepared to pitch, the biggest advantage Barnes had from being away was that he’d been away from the clubhouse through which flu has been sweeping -- claiming Kelly as its latest victim on Saturday.

But Barnes would have been the choice over Kelly on Sunday no matter what. He has thrown strikes. Kelly has not. He said his role doesn’t matter -- he’ll stretch in the fifth inning no matter what -- but it’s becoming clear what his role is.

“I feel like my mechanics are in sync right now, staying through the ball,” Barnes said. “I’m commanding stuff really well right now. I feel ready.”

Red Sox 7, Tigers 5: Dynamism of returning Mookie Betts sparks Boston rally

Brian MacPherson

DETROIT -- Mookie Betts took an aggressive turn around second base but slammed on the brakes. He didn’t want to make the first out of the eighth inning at third base.

Betts had thought initially he could sprint from first to third on a Chris Young line drive into the left-field corner. Young himself was thinking double out of the box. But Upton came up with the ball quickly, and so Betts stopped. Third-base coach Brian Butterfield went so far as to let out an audible “Oh, keep coming!” when he saw Betts dig in his feet and stop rather than dig for third.

Because Betts had taken an aggressive turn, however, Upton rushed his throw. It wound up nowhere. Neither of the infielders closest to Upton could flag it down. It rolled all the way to the plate. Betts, who had stopped in his tracks and never retreated to second, alertly scooted to third base. Young moved up to second.

That Betts and Young could get to third base set the wheels in motion for the Red Sox to come from behind and snatch a 7-5 win over the Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park, avoiding their third straight defeat. Betts scored the tying run on a Brock Holt bases-loaded walk, and Young scored the go-ahead run on a Sandy Leon single. The play was a reminder of the dynamism Betts brings to the Red Sox, a dynamism they’d missed while Betts was sidelined with the flu.

“He’s one of the few guys that can do things like that,” a grinning Butterfield said. “He’s got such a great feel. He never panics. He can make a quick decision. That was a really vital play for us, for him to get to third.”

“Aggressiveness definitely puts pressure on the defense, for sure,” Young said. “That’s the way he plays the game -- play aggressive and let the ball stop you. The ball didn’t stop him. That’s what allowed him to take that extra base. If he doesn’t do that, maybe it’s too late to read the throw.”

The Betts-induced misplay by Upton, which put the tying run on third, prompted Detroit manager Brad Ausmus to order an intentional walk to load the bases. That gave Detroit lefty Kyle Ryan no margin for error. He walked Holt to force home the tying run. Leon then did what he tends to do against lefties, lining a two-run single to right field to give the Red Sox their first lead of a game Boston had been chasing all afternoon.

“Every win is tough in the big leagues,” Betts said. “We just have that team that can scratch and claw.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way we once again came back,” Boston manager John Farrell said.

Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel almost handed the lead right back in the bottom of the ninth, walking the first two hitters he faced -- prompting Farrell to get Heath Hembree warming up behind Kimbrel. But after a line-drive single by Victor Martinez brought one run home, Kimbrel blew away Justin Upton and Tyler Collins to strand two runners and tend the game.

Matt Barnes struck out three hitters in two powerful innings of relief in front of Kimbrel in his first game back from bereavement leave. His return stabilized a bullpen that had imploded on Friday while he was away from the team. His outing only cemented his role as Kimbrel’s primary setup reliever.

A Red Sox batting order missing Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Hanley Ramirez hung tough against Detroit lefty Daniel Norris. Leon doubled and scored in the second inning, and Moreland doubled Young home in the third. The Red Sox got an extra out in the seventh inning when Kinsler failed to touch second on what should have been an inning-ending double play, and Andrew Benintendi capitalized with an RBI single to score Marco Hernandez and tie the game.

A Nick Castellanos home run off Rick Porcello pushed Detroit ahead once again in the bottom of the seventh. As it turned out, however, that just set the stage for Betts to spark a rally.

Rick Porcello shelves fastball to pitch into seventh inning

Brian MacPherson

DETROIT -- Rick Porcello pitched aggressively in the strike zone for much of last season, avoiding hard contact even without overpowering velocity. He manipulated his sinker and executed his secondary pitches well enough to avoid the barrel of the bat of the most dangerous hitters he’d face, well enough to win the American League Cy Young Award.

But Porcello could not keep his fastball out of the middle of the plate in the early stages of Sunday’s game at Comerica Park. He got away with it at times -- Victor Martinez swung through a mislocated fastball in the first inning -- but paid for it twice against Ian Kinsler, yielding run-scoring singles on a mislocated changeup in the second inning and a mislocated fastball in the fourth.

Through the first four innings, Porcello threw his fastball on more than 70 percent of his pitches. From the fifth inning onward, he threw his fastball with just 31.4 percent of his pitches. He struck out three straight hitters with a curveball and two changeups, and he even fanned Kinsler to end the sixth when he could use his fastball with the element of surprise behind it.

“He went to some more offspeed and he was able to slow them down, settle in a little bit,” Boston manager John Farrell said.

“I’m just pitching to what I see,” Porcello said.

The approach backfired against Nick Castellanos in the seventh. Porcello threw Castellanos three straight breaking balls -- and when the third wound up in the middle of the plate, Castellanos smashed it over the left-field fence.

“Mistakes with those guys, they don’t get missed very often,” said Porcello, who pitched for the Tigers for six seasons. “You have to be on top of your game -- and hopefully they miss a couple pitches, too.”

Through two starts, Porcello has a 4.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts and two walks.

* The Springfield Republican

Chris Sale's secret weapon on the mound? His BP fastball

Jen McCaffrey

DETROIT - Chris Sale's first start this season was long over by the time Sandy Leon jacked a three-run homer over the wall for a 12th-inning walkoff win on Wednesday.

Sale's dominance in seven scoreless innings wasn't diminished in the dramatic victory, but some of the details were lost.

For instance, the near perfect use of one of his most interesting pitches: the batting practice fastball.

Part of Sale's success is in his ability to mix speeds on pitches. His BP fastball, the easy get-over-the-plate pitch he'd use if throwing batting practice, is a key piece of his repertoire in games.

Sale throws a fastball, changeup and slider, but with various speeds it's almost as if he has five or six pitches.

It confounds hitters' timing and is a big reason why Sale racks up over 200 strikeouts a season. Last year, he registered three separate games with more than 20 swings and misses.

The BP fastball is something he's used more in recent years as he's gained confidence and learned hitters' tendencies.

"I don't want to give away all my secrets, but you face guys enough and you can kind of see a pattern of when they are swinging," the lanky 6-foot-6 lefty explained during spring training. "Let's say, the first hitter of the inning swings at the first pitch and he gets out, groundout to shortstop. 99.999999 percent of the time, the guy coming up next is not going to swing. So I can just throw an 88 mph BP fastball there. If he hits, he hits it, but shame on him if he gets out then I'm two pitches in and I've got two outs already."

Sale's average fastball velocity comes in around 93-94 mph but he can crank it up 97 mph, as evidenced in spring training, or drop it down to 88 mph. It's the same arm angle and appears the same out of his hand, but the deception of the velocity tricks opponents.

"I try to keep my hand, my delivery the same, just less effort with more focus," Sale said.

In other words, Sale pitches smart. The art of the BP fastball is in a pitcher's confidence. Any pitcher, after all, can throw a batting practice fastball. Not all can do so in game.

Sale admitted he's been burned on plenty of occasions. The hitter isn't fooled every time and so he's endured many home runs or extra base hits off of that 88 mph fastball.

"It's a pitch you've got to trust," David Price said. "It's a feel pitch and something you have to have confidence in."

Price has watched and admired his fellow lefty's BP fastball over the years, but never been able to incorporate it into his game the way Sale has done.

"He's not just laying it up there," Price said. "That's something you want to locate, you want to put on the corners, you want to make sure it's down and stuff like that but if you use it right the way he does, it's a very valuable pitch."

An example of Sale's adeptness with the pitch came in that first start against Pittsburgh.

After a one-single in the second inning, Sale got Francisco Cervelli to strike out swinging on a changeup. He started of Cervelli with an 87 mph fastball then whipped a 96 mph heater that Cervelli took for a ball. But on the next pitch, Sale slipped in a 91 mph fastball and Cervelli swung and missed. Sale went to his slider for a ball, then a changeup Cervelli fouled off and another changeup that Cervelli struck out on a foul tip.

The next batter, Josh Harrison, got a first pitch BP fastball, coming in at 88 mph. Sale then went to his changeup, then back to the BP fastball at 92 mph, with just a bit more on it this time. Sale slipped in a slider and came back with a 96 mph fastball to get Harrison swinging to end it.

Part of it is game strategy. Part of it is longevity.

"If I threw 112 pitches in a game, let's say 75 fastballs, 64 are pretty good but I have 10 or 15 where I just kind of ease it in there," Sale said.

"It's picking your spots and having a longer term goal," he said. "When I was younger I gripped and ripped and let it eat every pitch. I'd throw 112 pitches in five innings and that's not doing anybody any good. That's not doing me and good, that's not helping my bullpen. So we just kind of developed this, and I think I'm going to fine tune it a little more this year."

Brandon Workman, Jamie Callahan dominate in minors while Matt Barnes dominates for Boston

Christopher Smith

Matt Barnes dominated out of the Red Sox bullpen today, hurling 2 scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and no walks while striking out three. He earned the victory in the Boston Red Sox's 7-5 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

The Red Sox bullpen has been shaky during the first week but Barnes has done his job. He has thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed two hits, one walk and struck out five.

Others besides Barnes must begin to step up.

Who are some relievers in the minors right now who could help the Red Sox as this season progresses?

Keep an eye on Brandon Workman, Chandler Shepherd and Jamie Callahan.

Workman pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Pawtucket in the second game of a doubleheader with Leigh Valley on Sunday. He allowed just one hit and didn't walk anybody while striking out one. But Leigh Valley won 5-2.

The right-handed Workman -- who underwent Tommy John surgery June 15, 2015 -- needs to continue to increase his velocity.

Shepherd, a righty, was extremely sharp in Pawtucket's opener Friday. He hurled 2 1/3 perfect frames and struck out four.

Shepherd and Callahan both remained on the Red Sox's spring training roster the entire camp and competed for the final roster spot that Ben Taylor won.

The right-handed Callahan earned the win in his Double-A debut today.

Callahan entered Portland's 11-10 victory with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth. He kept them loaded, inducing a flyout to left field and a groundout to second.

He then struck out the side in order during the ninth inning.

Austin Maddox, who also spent the entire spring training camp with Boston, hurled a perfect inning and struck out two in his 2017 debut with Portland.

Of note, both Kyle Martin and Luis Ysla, who the Red Sox added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, struggled during their 2017 regular season debuts.

Martin, a righty, took the loss in the first game of Pawtucket's doubleheader Sunday, a 3-1 defeat to Leigh Valley.

The righty surrendered two hits, including a two-run homer, in his one inning of work.

Ysla, a southpaw, went 2 innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out two for Portland on Saturday.

Sandy Leon sparks Red Sox offense after late rally against Detroit Tigers

Jen McCaffrey

DETROIT - Sandy Leon's bat had a mediocre spring training.

After a 2016 season where the catcher put up some eye-popping numbers, especially in the first half, Leon scuffled in the spring.

He hit .265 with a .747 OPS in 13 games after a season in which he batted .310 and posted an .845 OPS.

Manager John Farrell wasn't too concerned about Leon's bat and the catcher has proved him right this week.

On Wednesday night, Leon clubbed a three-run, walkoff homer in the 12th to send the Red Sox to a dramatic win.

Three games later, his two-run single in the eighth sparked a Red Sox rally that led to them to a 7-5 victory over the Tigers on Sunday.

The clutch hits have been big for a team run down by injuries and the flu.

"Early in camp, he was working to get his timing at the plate," Farrell said. "Late in camp, we started to see it come along. He's doing such a great job on both ends of the game and has come up with some really big hits for us in these last three or four ballgames."

Leon's handling of the pitching staff last season and his promising bat helped him win the starting job this season. Farrell didn't doubt him.

"What he did last year, that's not a fluke, that's a large number of at-bats last year that he was very productive, and to see what he's doing from both sides of the plate is certainly encouraging," the manager said.

On Sunday, Leon scored the Red Sox's first run after doubling to right and scoring on a Marco Hernandez single. That tied the game at 1-1 in a back and forth affair.

Detroit took the 2-1 lead and Boston tied it again. The Tigers grabbed a third run in the fourth and held a 3- 2 lead for three innings before an Andrew Benintendi RBI single tied it again.

The Tigers regained the lead, 4-3, on a solo homer the next half inning.

But Leon made sure Boston would avoid its third straight loss.

In the eighth, Mookie Betts, returning to the lineup for the first time in nearly a week after a bout with the flu, drew a leadoff walk. Chris Young singled and the Tigers intentionally walked Mitch Moreland, who'd gone 5-for-10 in his last two games.

That loaded the bases for Brock Holt, pinch-hitting for Steve Selsky, and Holt walked to bring in the tying run.

Leon came up next and finally gave the Red Sox a big hit they'd been waiting for, slapping a single to right- center scoring Young and Moreland to break open the game. Another run came across on a Pablo Sandoval double play, but Leon's blow did the damage.

And in the ninth when Craig Kimbrel wasn't as effective, those runs from Leon proved more important.

In four games, Leon is hitting .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, a homer, five RBIs and an 1.188 OPS. He's also thrown out all three runners who've tried to steal against him.

Of course it's early, but it's a good sign.

Red Sox center fielder has right knee sprain, headed back to Boston

Jen McCaffrey

DETROIT - An MRI Jackie Bradley Jr. had at a Detroit hospital on Sunday showed inflammation and a sprain on the outside of his right knee.

The Red Sox center fielder tumbled to the ground on Saturday after tripping on the first base bag in the ninth inning.

He was examined by a doctor after the game and had x-rays that were negative, but reported to the park on Sunday with swelling and soreness.

Bradley is headed back to Boston on Monday to get a full exam by team physician Dr. Peter Asnis.

"Right now there's no determination or decision about his roster status, but precautionary, we want to be sure we take every measure available to us," manager John Farrell said.

For his part, Bradley was upbeat after the game.

"I feel a lot better. Initial diagnosis and I've already kind of been getting treatment on it and we're going in the right direction," he said.

While it seems likely that Bradley will need a disabled list stint to let the sprain fully heal, he's holding out hope he can convince the team he a day or two down will be enough.

"I feel like I can move around pretty good," Bradley said. "I think that's why want to get the doctor in here to see it so they can kind of determine how much leeway there going to let me do it."

Red Sox battle back with late rally to beat Detroit Tigers, 7-5

Jen McCaffrey

DETROIT - For the second time in three games, it appeared a late Red Sox rally would be moot after a bullpen blowup.

The Red Sox tied the game in the top of the seventh, fell behind in the bottom half of the inning, put up a four-spot in the eighth to retake the lead, and almost collapsed in the ninth.

In the end, they walked out of Comerica Park with a 7-5 win over the Tigers on Sunday.

In the previous four games, Boston had scored just 14 runs, and struggled offensively to string key hits together. A depleted lineup battling the flu, lost on Friday after taking the lead in the eighth only to let it slip away in the bottom of the inning.

That wasn't the case on Sunday.

Down 3-2 in the seventh, Marco Hernandez hit a one-out single. Dustin Pedroia followed with what was originally ruled a double play, but after replay, the call was overturned with Hernandez safe at second.

Andrew Benintendi then singled to left, driving in Hernandez, but tried to advance to second and was thrown out ending the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Rick Porcello returned to the mound with 93 pitches and gave up a solo homer to Nick Castellanos on his third pitch to the third baseman.

Porcello stayed in the game for one more batter but exited after allowing a single to Miguel Cabrera. Matt Barnes entered and recorded a strikeout and a ground out before Sandy Leon threw Cabrera out trying to steal second.

But the Red Sox battled back.

Mookie Betts, fresh off a week-long bout with the flu, led off the eighth with a walk and Chris Young singled advancing to second on an error. The Tigers intentionally walked Mitch Moreland in order to get new reliever Carlos Rondon to face Steve Selsky.

But Farrell pinch-hit Brock Holt for Selsky with the bases loaded. Holt drew a five-pitch walk to bring in the tying run.

Sandy Leon followed with a two-run single. Pablo Sandoval grounded into a double play to score another run.

This time the Red Sox held on to win.

Porcello wasn't sharp in his second start of the season allowing 11 hits and four runs, three earned, working into the seventh inning. He only issued one walk and struck out eight, but allowed baserunners in five of his six innings.

The Tigers scattered runs in the first, second and fourth inning, but the Red Sox kept pace with runs in the second and third before tying it in the seventh on the Benintendi hit.

Craig Kimbrel struggled with command in the ninth inning, issuing back to back walks to lead off the inning before getting Cabrera to strike out. Victor Martinez followed up with a laser single to right scoring a run, but Kimbrel struck out the final two batters to pick up his second save.

* RedSox.com

Sox pick up Porcello, rally past Tigers

Jason Beck and Ian Browne

DETROIT -- The Red Sox fought back from the verge of a third straight loss to the Tigers with a four-run eighth inning, punctuated by Sandy Leon's go-ahead two-run single, for a 7-5 Boston victory Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.

It was the second eighth-inning rally in three days for the Red Sox, who had a five-run frame in Friday's series opener. Unlike that day, this rally held up, giving Boston a chance to salvage a series split when aces Justin Verlander and Chris Sale face off in Monday's wraparound series finale.

"Particularly the way this series has gone, I couldn't be more proud of the way we once again came back," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "We tied it up. We gave it right back. We come back and answer once again. We're able to mount a sizeable inning late in the ballgame."

A pair of Ian Kinsler RBI singles helped Detroit build a lead behind starter Daniel Norris. The two sides traded single runs in the seventh, including a Nicholas Castellanos homer off former Tiger Rick Porcello to pull Detroit back in front, 4-3. A Mookie Betts leadoff walk, Chris Young single and Mitch Moreland intentional walk loaded the bases, all off Bruce Rondon, before Brock Holt's bases-loaded walk and Leon's single pulled Boston ahead off Kyle Ryan.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Walks haunt: Though Betts' leadoff walk off Rondon started the rally, the key pass came two batters later with two on and first base open. Detroit manager Brad Ausmus chose not to pitch to Moreland and instead put him on, loading the bases and leaving Ryan no room for error upon his entrance. Holt pinch-hit and didn't swing at any of his five pitches, walking to tie the game.

"It's not ideal, but it was basically the only way I thought we could get out of it with the lead," Ausmus said. "If you don't load the bases, you've got to pull the infield in with no outs. Then a bloop or a squib between the drawn-in infield, and they've got the lead. This is the one way we were able to possibly keep the lead. It just didn't work out."

Kimbrel halts Tigers rally: The Tigers threatened their second late-inning rally in three days once closer Craig Kimbrel walked Kinsler and Castellanos to begin the ninth. Victor Martinez singled home Kinsler and put the potential tying run on base, but Kimbrel regrouped to strike out Justin Upton and Tyler Collins and hold on.

"Craig wasn't sharp, he'll get better," Farrell said. "But, still, to finish it out, to close it out, a good win." SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Miguel Cabrera's first-inning single ended an 0-for-12 slump, the longest season-opening hitless streak of his career. In fact, he hadn't gone back-to-back games hitless to open any other season. His single Sunday was a line drive through the right side hit 111.2 mph, according to Statcast™.

Betts has gone 87 plate appearances without a strikeout, the longest streak by a Boston player since Hall of Famer Wade Boggs went 107 plate appearances without a K in 1991.

UNDER REVIEW Farrrell won a key challenge in the top of the seventh. Dustin Pedroia hit a grounder to short, and the Tigers tried to turn an inning-ending double play, and initially were awarded for doing so. But after Farrell's challenge, second baseman Kinsler was ruled off the bag, and Marco Hernandez was safe at second.

"He's got to be touching the base," Ausmus said of Kinsler. "That's the rule." Andrew Benintendi then tied the game by scoring Hernandez on an RBI single to left.

WHAT'S NEXT Red Sox: In a marquee pitching matchup, Sale will face Verlander on Monday. The two pitchers have combined for 11 All-Star appearances and this is the fifth time they've faced each other. The Red Sox will get shortstop Xander Bogaerts back in the lineup after he missed three games on the bereavement list. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.

Tigers: Verlander matches up opposite Sale for the third time since last August, hoping to build off of 6 1/3 quality innings against Sale's former team, the White Sox, on Opening Day.

JBJ may land on DL with right knee sprain

Ian Browne

DETROIT -- As Jackie Bradley Jr. playfully chased teammate Chris Young around the clubhouse Sunday morning, he did not look like a player who will be sidelined for a significant amount of time.

The Red Sox hope that's the case, though an MRI taken at a Detroit hospital on Bradley's right knee showed inflammation and a sprain.

Bradley sat out Sunday's 7-5 win and will fly back to Boston prior to Monday's series finale for some further testing from the Red Sox's medical staff.

The Red Sox will wait until after that exam before determining if Bradley needs to go on the disabled list. "The MRI shows he's got some inflammation and a little bit of, I guess you'd call it a sprain to the outside of the knee," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "We're going to send him back to Boston to get a full workup, a complete exam with Dr. Asnis back there, so right now there's no determination or decision about his roster status, but [it's] precautionary. We want to be sure we take every measure available to us."

Bradley sustained the injury when the ground gave out on him as he rounded first base after a flyout in the ninth inning of Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Tigers. At first, Bradley's left foot got stuck in the ground, and then he fell on his right knee.

If Bradley needed a DL stint, the Red Sox would probably move Andrew Benintendi to center field, and Young and Brock Holt could share duties in left field.

Before and after Sunday's game, Bradley was in good spirits and optimistic there is nothing seriously wrong with him.

"I feel a lot better," said Bradley. [Both from the] initial diagnosis and I've already kind of been getting treatment on it and [I feel like] we're going in the right direction." It is clear Bradley wouldn't be ready to play by Monday, which is why the Red Sox are sending him home early.

"I think it's just to have extra eyes on it and have our doctors take a look at it and kind of go from there," said Bradley.

The ailment -- even if minor -- added to a stressful weekend for the Red Sox, who have been beset by a rampant illness that has spread around the team and two players (shortstop Xander Bogaerts and setup man Matt Barnes) out on the bereavement list.

Here is the latest on the medical/roster front:

• Mookie Betts was over his sickness enough to be in the lineup for the first time since Opening Day. He started in right field and went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.

• Barnes returned to the roster for Sunday's game as right-hander Noe Ramirez was optioned to Triple-A and fired two scoreless innings for the win.

• Bogaerts is expected to be back at shortstop for Monday's finale of this four-game series. A corresponding roster move will have to be made, which will likely result in Deven Marrero being optioned. • Hanley Ramirez remained back in Boston after testing positive for influenza, and is all but certain to miss the remainder of the series in Detroit.

"I spoke to him twice [Saturday]," said Farrell. "He was able to get up and start moving around. Right now, it's unlikely he'd come to Detroit. If we can get him to the ballpark [Monday], in Fenway, and start getting some activity, that would be probably the best-case scenario."

• Righty setup man Joe Kelly was back at the ballpark Sunday after retreating to the team hotel with sickness before Saturday's game. He might be available to pitch Monday.

• NESN was also back to a full booth Sunday. Play-by-play man Dave O'Brien was hit hard with flu-like symptoms that led to him leaving in the middle of Saturday's game. O'Brien was back to work a day later alongside analyst Jerry Remy.

• Red Sox prospect Brian Johnson had a scary incident Saturday when he was hit in the face by a line drive while pitching for Triple-A Pawtucket. Johnson was also hit in the head in 2012 while pitching in a Minor League doubleheader at Fenway Park.

"Traded some messages with him this morning," said Farrell. "He's upbeat. He's looking forward to getting back on the mound, taking his regular turn. The CT scan he went through was clean. There were no fractures of any kind after getting hit with a line drive."

Depleted Sox dig deep to win in Detroit

Ian Browne

DETROIT -- Winning a game felt as hard for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon as staving off the recent illnesses that have spread to all corners of the clubhouse.

And that's what made this 7-5 victory over the Tigers feel so satisfying for the short-handed visitors.

For the third straight day, the Red Sox were without three of their best players. Though Mookie Betts returned from his flu, Hanley Ramirez remained sidelined with his.

Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. sat out with inflammation and a sprain in his right knee. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts missed his third straight game on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother.

The Red Sox trailed in the bottom of the first, tied it in the second, fell behind in the second, tied it in the third, fell behind again in the fourth, tied it in the seventh, fell behind again in the bottom of the seventh and then finally broke through with a four-spot in the eighth.

"It just shows the kind of team we have, the depth we have that's here and in Triple-A, too," said Betts. "It's going to take more than 25 guys and we have some other guys that can help the team, too."

It was the first win of the four-game series for Boston, after losing tense battles Friday and Saturday.

"We're going up against a bunch of things that are around our clubhouse right now," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "The one thing that hasn't emerged was anybody talking about any excuses. We know what's in front of us. We know how people feel and the number of guys that aren't 100 percent, but there's a lot of fight in this group."

The desired recipe for a win would have been for 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello to pitch magnificently and for Craig Kimbrel to close it out with a dominant ninth.

Considering what the last few days have been like, it was more fitting the way it actually happened. Porcello labored, giving up 11 hits over six-plus innings. Still, the sinkerballer hung tough (three earned runs, one walk and eight strikeouts) and kept his team within striking distance and earned a no-decision.

"I felt OK," said Porcello. "Good ballclub, good lineup and definitely battled all the way through and really happy we came out on top. Some things I could have done better, could have executed some pitches better. They really swung the bats well. I felt like some of the outs I got were pretty loud outs, so overall really happy to come out of here with a win."

Then there was Kimbrel. Just when it seemed like the victory was safe with a 7-4 lead, the closer walked Ian Kinsler and Nicholas Castellanos to open the inning. Eight of the nine pitches were balls in those two at-bats.

With the dangerous Miguel Cabrera at the plate, Kimbrel didn't blink, striking him out on a 99-mph heater. Victor Martinez was next, and he provided a scare with drive down the line that was just foul instead of a game-tying three-run homer. The Red Sox happily took the RBI single from V-Mart to make it 7-5.

And Kimbrel took care of business from there, whiffing Justin Upton and Tyler Collins to win the game.

"We've been battling these past three days," said Porcello. "We've got half our squad here, practically. We've been in every ballgame and we're going to keep fighting. I'm so proud of the way the guys are playing and working through it. Even some of the guys are out there playing sick right now. So we just keep grinding."

Back from bereavement, Barnes gets big win

Ian Browne

DETROIT -- It had been an emotional few days for Matt Barnes, who was away from the Red Sox for three days while he mourned the loss of his grandmother.

But getting back to work and firing two dominant innings of relief in Sunday's 7-5 victory over the Tigers was just what he needed.

And the Red Sox also needed the hard-throwing righty after a tough loss by the bullpen on Friday and two key relievers (Joe Kelly and Robbie Ross Jr.) still out sick.

Barnes earned the win in relief of Rick Porcello, bridging the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel by allowing one hit and no runs while striking out three.

"It was tough driving back [Saturday] to Boston and then having to get on a plane," said Barnes. "I'll be honest, it was one of the last things that I wanted to do was to get on a plane and go flying after three-and- a-half hours at my grandma's funeral [Saturday] morning.

"But it's great to be back with the team. This is kind of one of those things, when you're going through something that's difficult, it's almost nice to get back to a normal schedule as much as you can. That doesn't help you forget it, but it kind of helps ease the pain a little bit with it."

At a time bullpen roles are very much in question for the Red Sox, the opening is there for Barnes to emerge as the primary setup man.

"Coming down toward the end of the game, I'll absolutely be ready for that," said Barnes. "But if there is a situation that arises in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and that's where they feel I'm best used to help the team win that day, I'll be ready for that. My routine's not going to change. I stretch in the fifth inning every game no matter what. So [I'll] be ready for any and all things."

Barnes stayed ready for Sunday's assignment by playing catch at Fenway on Thursday and then throwing with his cousin before Saturday's funeral in New York.

And when manager John Farrell put Barnes into a one-run game -- the Red Sox were trailing, 4-3 -- he was sharp from the outset.

"Yeah, two key innings to get that power arm back," said Farrell. "He's throwing a lot of strikes. Just to add a guy that's maybe a little bit more seasoned than some others in some of those big spots, he's going to be a pivotal guy in our bullpen."

* ESPNBoston.com

Win over Tigers 'just what the doctor ordered' for ailing Red Sox

Scott Lauber

DETROIT -- Ordinarily, a matchup of Chris Sale and Justin Verlander would be extraordinary enough for the anticipation to begin building more than 24 hours before either ace unleashed a pitch.

Take your hype elsewhere, John Farrell essentially said Sunday morning.

Not with 20 percent of the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day roster, including the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, dealing with a flu virus so pervasive it might as well be the plague. Two other players have been away from the team because of deaths in their families. Instead of taking batting practice, the center fielder was at a local hospital getting an MRI on his balky right knee. And, oh yeah, the Red Sox had lost back-to-back games against the Detroit Tigers.

So, if you wanted Farrell to rhapsodize about a Sale-Verlander duel in Monday's series finale, no, the manager wasn't in the mood.

"Tomorrow's another day. That’s kind of the only way you look at it," Farrell said. "It would be good to get today’s [game] under our belt, and have Rick Porcello go out and pitch like he’s capable. Tomorrow will get here, but we need to get a big hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position is the way I look at it."

Consider it done.

Fill-in shortstop Marco Hernandez delivered a two-out RBI single in the second inning, the Red Sox scored four runs in the eighth, and although Porcello got knocked around for 11 hits in six innings, reliever Matt Barnes returned from a three-day bereavement leave to pitch two scoreless innings in a come-from-behind, 7-5 victory.

It seems silly to regard the fifth game of the season as a "must-win" situation, so let's say it was just what the doctor ordered for the patchwork Red Sox after days of calling only for flu tests.

If you look really closely, you can almost see the roster becoming whole again, too. Right fielder Mookie Betts was back in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup after missing three games with flu-like symptoms. Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts is set to rejoin the team Monday after burying his grandmother in Aruba. Designated hitter Hanley Ramirez will be waiting at Fenway Park, his fever likely to have broken, when the Red Sox get back. And if it's any consolation after a less-than-ideal diagnosis, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. says he's confident he can play through a sprained ligament in his right knee.

Red Sox outfielders Brock Holt (12), Andrew Benintendi (16) and Mookie Betts (50) celebrate Sunday's victory, Boston's first in three tries in Detroit this weekend. Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports So, if Sale can only outpitch Verlander, the Red Sox can somehow escape Motown with a split of the four- game series and a rosier outlook on life than when they arrived.

"We’ve been battling these past three days," Porcello said after allowing four runs and surviving a scare in which he appeared to tweak his hamstring while running to back up third base. "We've got half our squad here, practically. We’ve been in every ballgame and we’re going to keep fighting. So proud of the way the guys are playing and working through."

After not playing for five days, Betts said he "felt like everything was kind of delayed and timing wasn't there" at the plate. But he still drew a leadoff walk to start the rally in the eighth inning after also walking in the first.

"His presence in the lineup, he took some good swings, walked a couple of times, got on base, was able to score a run," Farrell said. "Just to get him back in the flow is certainly a positive."

Likewise, Barnes' presence brought a steady hand to a bullpen in flux. With Tyler Thornburg sidelined by a spring-training shoulder injury, Barnes has slightly more experience in a setup role than Heath Hembree or Joe Kelly. He was in New York for his grandmother's funeral when Hembree, lefty Robby Scott and Kelly blew a lead in the eighth inning Friday. But after playing catch with his cousin Saturday to keep his arm loose, Barnes said he was "ready for anything," even a two-inning appearance before closer Craig Kimbrel white-knuckled his way through a ninth inning in which he walked the first two batters, gave up a run and brought the go-ahead run to the plate.

"I'll be honest, it was one of the last things that I wanted to do was to get on a plane and go flying after 3½ hours at my grandma’s funeral [Saturday] morning, but it's great to be back with the team," Barnes said. "This is kind of one of those things, when you’re going through something that's that difficult, it’s almost nice to get back to a normal schedule as much as you can."

Everything felt a little more normal for the Red Sox on Sunday evening, enough that they could finally look forward to the Sale-Verlander showdown.

"We had already lost two, especially some tough losses where you probably could have won a couple of those, and trying to pick up one because you know Verlander is going tomorrow," Betts said. "We have a guy who can match up with him, but he’s still Verlander and he’s tough to score some runs off of."

Ditto for Sale. May the better ace win in a marquee matchup even Farrell might now be better able to enjoy.

* WEEI.com

Why Craig Kimbrel Might Have Become the Red Sox' Most Important Player

Rob Bradford

Mookie Betts. Xander Bogaerts. Hanley Ramirez. They all missed just enough time for us to reflect on who might be the most important Red Sox.

But watching the end of the game Sunday, there could be another candidate.

The Red Sox really, really need a good Craig Kimbrel.

Perhaps the importance of Kimbrel was brought to the surface by the wave of constant reminders what the Red Sox gave up for him. As the closer was struggling to get a save in his team's 7-5 win over Detroit, more than a few took to Twitter to surface the stats of Manuel Margot, who is carrying a .940 OPS with two home runs over his first seven games this season.

Yet there is another very simple way to highlight Kimbrel's candidacy for the Sox' most important player: Who would the Red Sox' turn to as a replacement?

The Red Sox are currently a team possessing a bullpen with just one player who has enough to experience to be designated a role. Matt Barnes may soon morph into the no-doubt eighth inning guy, and somebody like Robby Scott could become a reliable late-inning lefty.

But Kimbrel is the one guy who there can't be any room for interpretation. He gets paid too much, cost too much to acquire, and has too extensive of a resume.

It's the exact reason why John Farrell might have to actually rethink his hesitancy to add one more out to Kimbrel's outings.

Yes, Kimbrel hasn't typically delved into those four-out waters this early in the season. Last year, he didn't go beyond three outs until May 28, which was the earliest foray into such an outing since his 1 1/3 innings on April 21, 2011.

It's a need that, with the unknowns that come with this bullpen (as was evident in Friday's loss), might have be accepted more this time around. Buck Showalter realized it when pitching Zach Britton two innings on Opening Day.

Cam Bedrosian. Alex Colome. Raisel Iglesias. Brandon Kintzler. All these closers have already received saves in outings of of more than an inning. Their teams made up for their bullpen uncertainty by going with the anchors for more than three outs, even with the calendar being what it is.

This brings us back to the importance of Kimbrel being good.

Even if Farrell decides to extend the closer's out limit, he has to be good enough to make it worthwhile. And so far, if the Red Sox possessed the kind of seventh and eighth inning security of years past, relying on this form of Kimbrel wouldn't necessarily offer instant comfort.

The good thing for the Red Sox when witnessing the righty Sunday afternoon was knowing the stuff is still there. When it came down to crunch-time, Kimbrel could (and did) rely on a 99 mph fastball to sail over Tigers bats. He currently owns a 43 percent swing-and-miss percentage through three outings, which would be the best of his career.

The bad was pitch location. Out of his 25 pitches, 11 were balls. It allowed for three Detroit base runners and an uneasy finish to the Red Sox' win.

"He was yanking some pitches to the glove side," Farrell told reporters after the game. "First time in four days, he's not in midseason form, and I don't know that anyone is right now. The thing about it is, he creates a little bit of traffic on the basepaths, but the strikeout ability is able to bail him out today."

In fairness, the Sunday save was the real time this season there has been reason to offer any criticism forward Kimbrel. He even cruised through his first non-save situation in pitching an inning against the Pirates in Game No. 2.

The reality is, particularly in the world Farrell's bullpen currently finds itself, that Kimbrel needs to be as good as ever, and perhaps for more April outs than ever.

Like it or not, this is the world Kimbrel, and the Red Sox, find themselves in one week into this new season.

* CSNNE.com

Leon Helps Red Sox Rally Past Tigers, 7-5

CSN Staff

Sandy Leon continued his early season heroics with a tie-breaking two-run single in the eighth inning as the Red Sox -- who trailed at three different points in the game -- rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Tigers Sunday in Detroit, snapping their two-game losing streak.

Red Sox-Tigers box score

Leon -- who had won Wednesday night's game against Pittsburgh with a three-run homer in the bottom of the 12th inning -- came to the plate in the eighth inning Sunday with the bases loaded and no out. The Sox had just tied the game, 4-4, on a bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Brock Holt, which came after a leadoff walk to Mookie Betts, a single by Chris Young and an error by left fielder Justin Upton that put runners at second and third, and an intentional walk to Mitch Moreland.

Leon smacked the first pitch he saw from Kyle Ryan into center field, scoring Betts and Young and putting the Sox in front for the first time all game, 6-4. Holt came in on a double-play grounder by Pablo Sandoval to make it 7-4.

That's where it stood when Craig Kimbrel came on to close in the bottom of the ninth. He made it interesting, walking the first two batters he faced and allowing a run-scoring single to Victor Martinez, but nailed it down by striking out Upton and Tyler Collins to end the game.

Prior to the eighth, the Sox had been fighting uphill all afternoon. Detroit had taken a quick 1-0 lead off Rick Porcello in the first on singles by Nicholas Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera and Upton. The Sox tied it in the second on a two-out RBI single by Marco Hernandez -- the only run Boston got out of a second-and- third, no-out situation -- but the Tigers went right back on top in the bottom of the second on a two-out, RBI single by Ian Kinsler.

The Red Sox tied it again in the top of the third when, with two outs, Young walked and Moreland doubled, but Detroit regained the lead in the fourth on another run-scoring single by Kinsler. Andrew Benintendi tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the seventh, and then in the bottom of the inning Castellanos, the leadoff hitter, untied it with a homer off Porcello.

Jackie Bradley Jr. Returning To Boston For Further Look At Sprained Knee

CSN Report

An MRI on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s injured right knee disclosed inflammation and a sprain, and the Red Sox center fielder is flying back to Boston one day ahead of the team for a further examination.

The news was announced moments after the Sox' 7-5 win Sunday in Detroit.

No determination has been made as to whether or not Bradley will need to be placed on the disabled list.

* The Associated Press

This Week in Baseball: Red Sox trying to stay the course amid injury, illness

The season is only a week old, and already the Boston Red Sox have faced quite a bit of adversity.

It's hard enough to deal with whatever baseball-related injuries pop up each year, but Boston has also had to worry about the flu, which has been making its way through the roster over the past few days. Every game brings new questions about who manager John Farrell will be able to put on the field.

Hanley Ramirez missed the last three games, and Mookie Betts was also sick, missing three games before returning in Sunday's win at Detroit. Reliever Robbie Ross is on the disabled list because of the flu. Utilityman Brock Holt and reliever Joe Kelly have also been unavailable at times.

"It's not like we could go home and quit. We've got games to play," second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "We've got a job to do, and we'll try to do it as best we can."

The Red Sox will attempt to salvage a split of a four-game series at Detroit when they send Chris Sale to the mound Monday against Justin Verlander. Boston will be without outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. in that game after he hurt his knee Saturday. It's not clear how much time he'll miss, but even after all their illnesses run their course, the Red Sox may not be at full strength for a while. David Price is still working his way back from a left elbow strain.

The defending AL East champions have persevered. The Red Sox beat the Tigers 7-5 on Sunday, with reliever Matt Barnes earning the win with two scoreless innings in his first game back from the bereavement list. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts has also been on the bereavement list.

Boston returns home for a six-game stand against Baltimore and Tampa Bay that starts Tuesday night.

Here are a few other developments from around baseball:

TURNAROUND

Last season, the Minnesota Twins began the season 0-9. They're 5-1 so far in 2017 — the best record in the American League. Cleveland looks like the clear favorite in the AL Central, but it's hard to identify the top challenger at this point, and the Twins have an early chance to state their case.

TURNING HIM LOOSE

Houston's Chris Devenski finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year race last season, posting a 2.16 ERA in 108 1/3 innings. He made five starts and 43 relief appearances.

Devenski has come out of the bullpen in his only two appearances this season, but he threw four innings each time, with the Astros clearly trying to take advantage of his ability to handle longer outings. On Wednesday against Seattle, he entered in a tie game in the eighth and kept things even, striking out seven and holding the Mariners without a hit. Houston eventually won in 13 innings.

After three days off, Devenski entered in the ninth Sunday with the Astros and Royals tied at 3. The right- hander allowed a solo homer to Brandon Moss, but after Houston tied it in the bottom of the inning, Devenski stayed on the mound for the Astros in the 10th, 11th and 12th, eventually finishing with seven strikeouts again and getting the win when Evan Gattis drew a game-winning walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th.

Andrew Miller's postseason for Cleveland showed how valuable a reliever can be when he's not constrained by a rigid role. Devenski's workload and effectiveness will be worth watching.

HIGHLIGHT

Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons submitted an early candidate for tag of the year Saturday night against Seattle. He was covering third when he had to leap to his left to catch a high throw. He brought he ball down and in one motion reached behind his back to tag Jean Segura, who was sliding in.

Segura was called out after a replay review — he and third base coach Manny Acta seemed as mesmerized as anyone during the review.

LINE OF THE WEEK

Francisco Lindor, Indians, hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning to lead Cleveland to a 9-6 win over Texas on Wednesday night. Lindor drove in five runs in the game.

Red Sox rally with 4 in 8th inning, beat Tigers 7-5

DETROIT -- Even if the Boston Red Sox hadn't been short-handed, this would have been a gratifying win.

Sandy Leon broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single, part of a four-run rally that lifted Boston to a 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

The Red Sox, depleted recently by injury and illness, rallied four times from one-run deficits.

"The one thing that hasn't emerged was anyone talking about any excuses," manager John Farrell said. "We know what's in front of us. We know how people feel. A number of guys aren't 100 percent, but a lot of fight in this group."

Jackie Bradley Jr. missed the game for Boston after hurting his right knee Saturday, but the Red Sox got Mookie Betts back after he'd been out sick. Hanley Ramirez was still out with an illness.

Xander Bogaerts hasn't played since Wednesday -- he's been on the bereavement list.

The Tigers led 4-3 in the eighth when Bruce Rondon (0-1) allowed a leadoff walk to Betts and a single by Chris Young. A throwing error on Young's single by left fielder Justin Upton left runners at second and third. After an intentional walk, Kyle Ryan came in and walked pinch-hitter Brock Holt to force in the tying run.

Leon followed with a line drive to center , and Boston led 6-4.

"We've just got to find someone that can pitch the seventh and eighth inning," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Justin Wilson was unavailable tonight -- he'd be a guy you could pitch in the eighth inning, but he'd pitched two days in a row, and we didn't want to use him."

Matt Barnes (1-0) got the win in relief for Boston. He'd just come off the bereavement list before the game.

Craig Kimbrel allowed a run in the ninth but recovered for his second save of the season. He's converted 21 chances in a row.

The Red Sox led 7-4 when Kimbrel walked the first two Detroit hitters in the ninth. The Boston closer then struck out Miguel Cabrera. Victor Martinez nearly tied it with a drive to right, but it went foul, and he ended up settling for an RBI single.

Kimbrel then struck out Upton and Tyler Collins to end it.

Boston right-hander Rick Porcello allowed four runs -- three earned -- and 11 hits in six-plus innings against his former team. Last year's AL Cy Young Award winner walked one and struck out eight.

Porcello looked briefly hobbled at one point when he brushed against Detroit third base coach Dave Clark while going to back up the base.

"I just kind of landed awkwardly," Porcello said. "I was watching the ball, and didn't see him. I heard him say something, and then I tried to move, and I just kind of landed awkwardly. It scared me more than anything, but I'm good to go."

Porcello reached 1,000 strikeouts when he fanned Martinez in the first.

Upton put the Tigers up 1-0 with an RBI single in the first. After Marco Hernandez tied it with a run- scoring single in the second, Ian Kinsler drove in a run with a single in the bottom of the inning.

Mitch Moreland hit an RBI double in the third for the Red Sox, but Detroit took a 3-2 lead on Kinsler's run- scoring single in the fourth.

The Red Sox tied it again in the seventh on an RBI single by Andrew Benintendi. Nicholas Castellanos put the Tigers up 4-3 with a homer in the seventh, but that lead -- like all their others -- was short-lived.

Daniel Norris allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings for Detroit.

CRUCIAL OVERTURN

The Red Sox appeared to have hit into a double play in the seventh, but a call at second base was overturned after a replay review . It turned out Kinsler had come off the bag an instant before making the catch-and-throw to first.

That reversal gave Boston a runner on second with two outs, and Benintendi's hit tied the game at 3.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: Before the game, Farrell said Bradley was dealing with some soreness and swelling in his knee. Bradley said afterward he's hopeful he can avoid the DL, but he was set to return to Boston for further evaluation.

UP NEXT

Red Sox: Chris Sale goes Monday in the series finale. Sale pitched seven scoreless innings against Pittsburgh in his previous start this season.

Tigers: Justin Verlander (1-0) takes the mound for the first time since Detroit's season opener. He is 5-5 with a 2.96 ERA against Boston in his career.

* The Detroit Free Press

Bullpen falters again; Tigers lose to Red Sox, 7-5

Anthony Fenech

Like clockwork, it came in the eighth inning.

It came with right-handed reliever Bruce Rondon on the hill. It wasn’t pretty, though Rondon hasn’t pitched pretty since he showed up for spring training in early February. It was the start of another bad inning for the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen.

And at the end of this one, a tag-team effort from Rondon and lefty reliever Kyle Ryan that torpedoed the Tigers’ chances to take another game from the flu-ridden Red Sox, it became even more clear that the team doesn’t have enough late-inning relievers manager Brad Ausmus can count on.

Holding the smallest of leads entering the top of the eighth inning this afternoon, Boston beat up Rondon and Ryan for four runs to beat the Tigers, 7-5.

BOX SCORE “We gotta find someone that can pitch in the seventh and eighth innings, “Ausmus said.

He has a couple pitchers, lefty Justin Wilson and righty Shane Greene, but both were unavailable because of their workload the previous two days. So he went back to Rondon, whose ineffectiveness was a catalyst for Opening Day’s late collapse, and the results were similar.

Rondon allowed a walk and a single, punctuated by an overthrow by Justin Upton in leftfield, and after an intentional walk, Ausmus called on Ryan, who promptly walked home the tying run and allowed a two-run single. For good measure, the Red Sox scored again on a groundout.

Like Opening Day, the Tigers would threaten again. But scoring three runs against Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel proved too tall a task.

Ausmus was mum on Rondon’s status. He’s showed diminished velocity this spring and a lack of location, and all Ausmus would say is, “We’ll figure it out.”

“We need to perform better as a group,” he said. “I’ll say that.”

The Tigers’ bullpen has been bad through the first five games of the season: In 14 1/3 innings, they have allowed 12 runs on 16 hits, with a 1.40 WHIP.

On this day, it squandered another solid starting pitching performance and deflated the Comerica Park crowd after Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was Castellanos’ second homer of the season.

Norris squared off against reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello – a former Tiger – and started off so-so, before settling in during the middle innings. He finished with 6 1/3 innings pitched, allowing three runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.

“Kind of one of those days,” Norris said. “I kind of settled down as the game went on, but I think that kind of happened when I hit a wall after the second and third (innings). I started focusing more on my pitches and that’s when I had more success.”

The two teams traded one-run tallies in the early innings: Upton and Ian Kinsler each delivered two-out RBI singles in the first and second, respectively, but both times, Norris relinquished the lead the next inning. In the fourth, another Kinsler RBI single put the Tigers ahead for a few innings.

Norris had settled by that point but was hooked after an infield single on the 97th pitch of his outing, with one out in the seventh inning.

Alex Wilson entered and induced an inning-ending groundball double play, but the Red Sox challenged the play – accusing Kinsler of not touching second base – and were successful.

The next batter, Andrew Benintendi, tied the game on a single to leftfield.

Then came the eighth inning, and the Tigers’ bullpen took it from there.

After Upton’s overthrow put runners on second and third base with nobody out, Ausmus elected to intentionally walk the hot-hitting Mitch Moreland.

Ryan walked Brock Holt, allowed a two-run single to Sandy Leon, and the Tigers would not have a lead again. They put the first two men on in the bottom of the ninth inning, plating one, but couldn’t close the gap, coming closest on a Victor Martinez fly ball that went home run distance but sailed a dozen feet or so foul in rightfield.

“We couldn’t hold them late,” Ausmus said. “We had a lead late, we just couldn’t hold them.”

It sounded awfully familiar.