The Detroit Tigers went to work early on Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy, scoring five runs in the second inning on their way to a 7-3 victory in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday.
ALCS Game 4, Red Sox vs. Tigers GIF recap: Detroit gets to Peavy early
The Tigers scored all seven of their runs in the second and fourth innings. They even stole a couple of bases, which is a rare feat for the team. Well done.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
It all happened so fast against Peavy, who started the game on a promising note with a filthy strikeout of Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera:
That wasn’t quite the last strike that Peavy threw in the game, but it sure seemed like it. The 32-year-old right-hander loaded the bases with nobody out in the second inning, thanks in part to back-to-back walks. And to think, Peavy was close to getting out of the inning with no damage.
This catch by Jacoby Ellsbury kept Victor Martinez, who doubled to start the inning, at third base with one out:
Peavy continued his inability to find the strike zone and walked in a run. But, the Red Sox could have gotten out of the inning trailing by a single run after Peavy induced a grounder off the bat of speedy Jose Iglesias.
Perhaps hurrying because he was aware of the difficulty of doubling up the rookie shortstop, Dustin Pedroia bobbled the ball and was only able to get the out at second base. Although, as you can clearly see, Boston should not have even been that fortunate:
Iglesias reached first safely and a run scored, but the Tigers were down to their final out of the inning because of the missed call at second. Justice prevailed in the next at-bat when Torii Hunter ripped a double down the left field line to extend Detroit's lead to 4-0, and Miguel Cabrera added one more with an RBI single.
The Tigers added another couple of runs later in an inning that featured the team’s first two stolen bases of the postseason. The first one -- Austin Jackson running -- wasn’t all that much of a surprise ...
... but the same can’t be said about the other:
It’s hard to tell, but yes, that’s the gimpy Cabrera taking second, unchallenged.
Boston scored a run in three of the final four innings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Tigers’ best offensive showing of the series. The ALCS is all evened up, and for that, we should celebrate with cake:
Game 5 will take place at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
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