(Sports Network) - The Detroit Tigers finally halted a nine-game road losing streak last night and will aim for a second straight win over the Boston Red Sox today at Fenway Park.
In Friday's opener, Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs in his Tigers debut, as Detroit held on against Boston's furious ninth- inning rally for a 6-5 decision.
Will Rhymes added two hits and an RBI while Austin Jackson also drove in a run for the Tigers, who snapped a four-game overall slide and won on the road for the first time since July 3.
Robbie Weinhardt (1-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief for Detroit, which saw Jose Valverde allow a grand slam to David Ortiz and put two more runners on base before striking out Mike Cameron looking to end the contest.
Marco Scutaro also homered for the Red Sox, who were coming off a road sweep of the Angels and nearly rallied back from a five-run deficit in their final at-bat.
Jon Lester (11-6) took the loss after allowing 11 hits and four runs with seven strikeouts over six-plus innings.
"It was just one of those night. You're going to have ones where you don't feel good," Lester said. "There was no rhythm, no balance, no execution."
Boston is now 7 1/2 games back in the AL East, which is led by the Yankees, while Detroit is six games behind the White Sox in the AL Central race.
Max Scherzer hurled five no-hit innings against Tampa on Monday before yielding a grand slam in the sixth en route to defeat. The righty will be back on the bump for Detroit today, hoping to better his 7-8 record and 4.45 ERA. With 108 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings of work, Scherzer has outstanding stuff.
Scherzer's only career start against Boston came earlier this season, and he was rocked for six earned runs on six hits in five innings.
Slated to get the ball for the Red Sox today is Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 7-3 with a 4.09 ERA. Through 83 2/3 innings, Matsuzaka has only permitted 70 hits, but his total of 42 walks is a bit high. He did not figure in the decision of Sunday's game against Seattle despite only yielding one earned run on four hits in six innings.
Matsuzaka is an impressive 4-1 lifetime against Detroit with a 2.64 ERA, and he has yet to face the Tigers this season.