Detroit — Tigers manager AJ Hinch said before the series that he’d be well aware of where Rafael Devers was at all times, but especially late in the game. Meaning, he wasn’t going to let Devers beat him if he could in any way avoid it.
Couldn’t avoid it Tuesday.
The All-Star third baseman had three hits, including an RBI single in the eighth inning that broke a 3-3 tie and sent the Red Sox to a 5-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Devers had an RBI single in a three-run sixth inning, helping Boston nullify a 3-0 Tigers lead.
The Tigers called on right-hander Alex Lange in the eighth. He’d pitched a scoreless inning Monday, but never found his control in this one. He walked Kiki Hernandez to lead off the eighth inning, threw a wild pitch and then allowed the run-scoring single by Devers.
BOX SCORE: Red Sox 5, Tigers 3
Devers went to second when Akil Baddoo booted the ball in center field. With one out, Lange drilled former Tiger J.D. Martinez with a 95-mph fastball. That ended Lange’s outing. He threw more balls (eight) than strikes (seven).
Right-hander Will Vest entered and allowed a two-out, run-scoring single to Christian Arroyo.
They might as well not have plugged in the radar guns for the first six innings Tuesday. The two starting pitchers weren’t much about velocity. Pitch artistry, yes. Velocity, insignificant.
Neither 42-year-old Red Sox starter Rich Hill nor Tigers Tyler Alexander lived above the 90-mph speed limit. Hill, the University of Michigan product, was living a lot in the sub-80 range. He threw five pitches under 70 mph — none of them eephus pitches.
He splintered Akil Baddoo’s bat in the third inning with a 66-mph curve ball, then struck him out with an 88-mph fastball on the next pitch.
The Tigers, for the first couple of innings anyway, seemed mesmerized, unable to pull the trigger. Hill got 11 called strikes with his 88-mph fastball and another nine with his 72-mph curveball. StatCast recorded two different curveballs — a curve ball and a slow curve ball. There was 3 mph difference. Could’ve called them slow curve ball and slowest curve ball.
But for one inning, though, he gave the Tigers fits. That one inning proved fatal.
Rookie Spencer Torkelson started a three-run rally in the third inning with his first big-league hit, an opposite-field double. He was rewarded with a loud and long ovation from the small crowd at Comerica Park after going 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts to start the season.
Torkelson went to third on a bloop single by Dustin Garneau and scored on a ground out by Robbie Grossman.
Jonathan Schoop singled in the second run and then Javy Baez hit a low missile (110.8 mph off the bat) the sizzled over the head of left fielder Alex Verdugo. The RBI double was the hardest hit base hit by a Tiger this season.
Alexander, meanwhile, breezed through five innings allowing just two hits. Those two came back-to-back with one out in the fourth. But he got the ever-dangerous Martinez to rollover into a deft 6-4-3 double-play.
Baez at short had to charge the slow roller. He threw quickly to second and Schoop made the relay throw to first just as fast.
The third time through the Red Sox order was an issue for Alexander. He gave up and RBI double to Kiki Hernandez and an RBI single to Devers in the sixth inning. Devers was one of two left-handed hitters in the lineup against Alexander.
Alexander was replaced by right-handed Jacob Barnes with one out and one on. Martinez, with two outs, sliced a double down the right-field scoring Devers with the tying run. The Tigers challenged that it was a foul ball, but replays were inconclusive and the call of safe stood.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky