Detroit Tigers 1 Boston Red Sox 7 (May 14, 2007)
| 4
|
| |||
|
0 votes 
0 commentsDice-K, Lugo Tame Tigers
...by user Tylersalt
In a matchup of the two best teams in the American League, Daisuke Matsuzaka (W, 5-2) pitched his first major league complete game and Julio Lugo knocked in three runs as the Boston Red Sox (26-11, 1st in AL East) defeated the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers (23-14, 1st in AL Central). Nate Robertson (L, 3-3) threw 5 innings and allowed three runs on 11 hits in the losing effort.
| W: | Daisuke Matsuzaka | (5-2, 4.17, 0.42) |
| L: | Nate Robertson | (3-3, 3.62, 0.59) |
| S: | N/A | N/A |
Matsuzaka was nearly dominant, not allowing a run after Curtis Granderson's solo home run in the 3rd. He struck out 6 and didn't walk a batter for the first time all season. He gave the bullpen a nice reprieve after Josh Beckett exited early in Sunday's game. Over his last two starts, both wins, he has thrown 16 innings and struck out 13 while allowing only two runs, both on solo homers. The Red Sox offense continued to play extremely well, behind Sunday's hero Lugo, who went 2-4 with a walk and 3 RBI. All Boston starters except for J.D. Drew (0-4) and Manny Ramirez (1-5) had 2 hits in the game.
The 7-9 hitters for Detroit, Sean Casey, Neifi Perez, and Brandon Inge went a combined 0-9. and DH Gary Sheffield went 0-4. Tim Byrdak pitched two no-hit innings in relief of Robertson, but Bobby Seay really let the game get out of hand, giving up four runs on four hits in the 8th.
- Robertson: 27
- Matsuzaka: 81
Top Performers by WPA:
- Tigers: Granderson (.127), Byrdak (.060)
- Red Sox: Matsuzaka (.411), David Ortiz (.105)
Coming Up Next: Game two of this four game series is Tuesday, with the red-hot Tim Wakefield (4-3, 1.79, 1.07) taking on last year's AL Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander (3-1, 2.83, 0.86). Game time is 7:05 ET.
Image courtesy of FanGraphs.com.
