Malloy's ninth inning single gives Tigers win over Red Sox

DETROIT (AP) — Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a pinch-hit single in the ninth to end the game and give the Detroit Tigers a 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.

Aroldis Chapman (2-2) walked Andy Ibáñez to start the inning. Connor Wong threw the ball into center field as Ibáñez stole second, putting a runner on third. Malloy hit for Akil Baddoo and lined a single to center.

Alex Bregman homered in the fourth to put Boston up 2-1, but Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the inning.

Riley Greene's two-run homer helped the Tigers take a 5-2 lead in the sixth, but the Red Sox drove Tarik Skubal out of the game with a three-run seventh.

Nick Sogard started the rally with a one-out single, then took second when Carlos Narváez snapped Skubal's streak of 27 innings without a walk. Ceddanne Rafaela ended Skubal's night with an RBI single, and Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers tied the game with RBI singles off Tyler Holton.

Tommy Kahnle replaced Holton and got pinch-hitter Wilyer Abreu to hit into a double play.

Boston had runners on the corners with one out in the ninth, but Will Vest (3-0) struck out Devers and Bregman grounded into a force at second.

Key moment

It appeared Kerry Carpenter had given the Tigers a 6-5 lead in the seventh, but Abreu reached over the right-field fence to rob him of a home run. The ball deflected off the heel of his glove and into Rafaela's for a rare 9-8 putout. The last 9-8 putout before today was on Sept. 14, 2003, when the Twins’ Michael Ryan lost the ball in the sun and it hit off his head and Dustan Mohr caught it.

Key stat

Skubal has struck out 61 batters and walked two in his last seven starts, covering 43 1/3 innings.

Up next

Boston goes home for a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, who could start Chris Sale on Friday. That would make the Red Sox the first team in MLB history to face both defending Cy Young winners in back-to-back games.

Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-5, 4.61) is expected to start Friday in Toronto.

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