A fifth-inning meltdown from Aaron Cook cost the Red Sox their winning streak, as the Detroit Tigers dodged a sweep with a 7-5 victory.
The Red Sox grabbed an early lead off the Tigers thanks to some good luck in the first, as Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double off the first base bag. Cody Ross would end up singling him home with two outs to make it 1-0 in the first.
For three innings, Aaron Cook was capable of shutting down the Detroit lineup. Eight ground balls went for just one hit, helping him into the fourth without a run on the board. A leadoff plunking of Quintin Berry would cost the Sox the lead in the next frame, but it wasn't till the fifth everything would fall apart.
A pair of leadoff singles and a bunt put two men in scoring position for Jackson, who sent a hit into left to make it 2-1 in favor of the Tigers. A ground ball out would score the other RISP, but the real pain would come from the power hitters, as Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder each went deep to leave it at 6-1.
The Sox managed to claw their way back into the game in the sixth, scoring three times after a trio of leadoff singles from Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, and Cody Ross set the table. Jarrod Saltalamacchia would seriously damage the rally with a run-scoring double play, but singles from Will Middlebrooks and Pedro Ciriaco helped to push two more across, leaving it at 6-4.
Carl Crawford would get the Sox back within one when he led off the seventh with a solo shot into the bullpen in right, but Delmon Young responded in kind to start the eighth, wrapping a homer around Pesky's Pole to make it 7-5. The Red Sox went 1-2-3 in the ninth, snapping their winning streak at four.