BOSTON -- The Red Sox' attempt to complete a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers came up short on Thursday night at Fenway Park, as Josh Beckett picked up his fifth loss of the season while allowing four earned runs on 10 hits and a walk in seven innings.
Max Scherzer won his fifth game of the year, allowing just three runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings.
The Red Sox had initially jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to a lead-off solo home run by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and then a two-out RBI double to deep center field by Scott Podsednik.
The Tigers answered with three runs off Beckett in the top of the third, with Pricnce Fielder's two-out single up the middle scoring the go-ahead run and giving Detroit a 3-2 lead.
The Red Sox quickly answered that by tying the game at 3-3 on a Saltalamacchia two-out single up the middle that drove in Kevin Youkilis, who doubled with two outs down the left-field line.
Detroit scored the game-winning run in the top of the fifth, as Miguel Cabrera drove in Quintin Berry from third with a single to right-center. The story though, was how Berry got to third. He got on base with a bunt single down the third-base line, and then while stealing second, Saltalamacchia's throw hit him as he dove and went into left field, sending Berry to third easily.
Cabrera's single gave the Tigers their fourth and final run off Beckett, and ended up being all the needed.
The Tigers added three more runs against the Red Sox bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings, resulting in a 7-3 win.