Boston — Can’t lose at home. Can’t win on the road.
The Tigers are establishing a very unhealthy pattern early this season. Coming off six straight wins at Comerica Park, they rode an eight-game road losing streak into Fenway Park Friday night.
Make it nine straight road losses.
Scoreless through regulation, the Boston Red Sox scratched across a run in the bottom of the 10th inning to take the opener of a four-game series, 1-0.
Will Vest, who pitched a scoreless ninth, threw a wild pitch to advance the free runner to third with no outs. Manager AJ Hinch brought Javier Báez in from center field, using a five-infielder, two-outfielder alignment.
Vest struck out Ceddanne Rafaela but after Marcelo Mayer walked, pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida bounced a single to right field to end it.
The Tigers put runners at second and third against Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the top of the ninth. Jahmai Jones ripped a double into the left-field corner, sending rookie Kevin McGonigle (safe on a fielder’s choice) to third.
But Champman punched out Dillon Dingler with back-to-back heaters — 100 mph and 101 mph.
BOX SCORE: Red Sox 1, Tigers 0 (10)
The Tigers stranded the free runner in the top of the 10th against right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock. With Dingler at third and one out, Wenceel Perez struck out and Spencer Torkelson grounded out to short.
The game was scoreless for nine innings, but it wasn’t devoid of action.
Tigers’ Casey Mize and Red Sox lefty Ranger Suarez put on a show, impressively trading outs in their own unique style.
The Tigers got two singles off Suarez in the first inning and then nothing over the next seven innings.
Mize, with a four-seam fastball that was hitting 96 mph that greatly enhanced the effectiveness of his splitter and slider, allowed three hits through 6.2 innings.
The third hit was a two-out infield single in the seventh that ended his night. But he was brilliant. He struck out seven with one walk. He got 14 whiffs on 42 swings and 16 called strikes.
Suarez, meanwhile, was mixing changeups, curveballs and cutters off his 91-mph sinker and getting the Tigers’ hitters to beat the ball in the ground. Nine ground ball outs and nothing but weak contact.
McGonigle singled with one out in the first and Jahmai Jones followed, belting a line drive off the Green Monster in right field. McGonigle breezed into third but center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela played the carom expertly and threw out Jones at second base.
The Tigers’ only runner after the first against Suarez was Dingler, who drew a two-out walk in the fourth.
Suarez set down 13 straight hitters after that through the eighth.
Dingler, besides calling a smart pitch-mix for Mize, helped out with two defensive plays befitting a Gold Glove catcher. He ended the second inning by pouncing on a topper in front of the plate to retire Rafaela. Dingler ran through Rafaela to get the ball, knocking him out of the base path.
He took Rafaela off the bases again in the fifth. This time, he threw him out at second trying to steal second base. The throw was perfect, an 87-mph dart that popped into the glove of shortstop McGonigle in 1.85 seconds.
Friday was the big-league debut for Tigers’ infielder Hao-Yu Lee. He went hitless in three at-bats against Suarez, though he did drive a ball to track in right-center field the Rafaela ran down in the fifth.
Playing third base, he ended seventh inning fielding a ground ball behind the bag at third and throwing across the diamond to retire Rafaela and stranding a runner at second. First baseman Spencer Torkelson made an outstanding scoop on Lee’s low throw.
Lee’s throwing error in the bottom of the ninth extended the inning but caused no damage.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers drop pitcher’s duel in 1-0 loss to Red Sox in 10 innings
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
