Pomeranz comes up short again in Boston's 4-2 loss to Tigers
BOSTON (AP) - Drew Pomeranz felt a lot more comfortable in his second start for the Red Sox. It just wasn't enough for him to earn his first victory in a Boston uniform.
Jose Iglesias hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Justin Verlander pitched six solid innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Red Sox 4-2 on Monday night to spoil Pomeranz's second start at Fenway.
Pomeranz (8-8), recently acquired from the San Diego Padres, gave up four hits and struck out seven in six innings. Both of the runs he allowed came via Iglesias' homer.
"I had a good curveball tonight. I was locating my fastball a lot better," Pomeranz said. "I was in a lot better counts all night. I really made one bad pitch."
Boston failed to homer Monday, ending a streak of 15 straight games with at least one. The Red Sox have lost three of their last four and fell to 11-12 this season against AL Central teams.
They've also now gone 21-21 this season in games decided by two or fewer runs.
Victor Martinez and James McCann also drove in runs for the Tigers. Detroit pulled within 5 1/2 games of idle AL Central-leading Cleveland.
Verlander (10-6) allowed one run and five hits and struck out five to pick up the victory. He is 3-0 in his last five starts.
Francisco Rodriguez earned his 28th save.
Pomeranz entered Monday's start looking to bounce back from his dismal Boston debut last week against San Francisco, in which he gave up five runs in just three innings.
He was cruising through five innings Monday, allowing just two hits. That changed in the sixth when Iglesias crushed Pomeranz's fastball high over the Green Monster in left for a two-run homer to put the Tigers up 2-1.
Iglesias scored his second run of the game in the eighth, trotting across home plate on Martinez's single off reliever Clay Buchholz to make it 4-1.
Boston loaded the bases on three straight singles off Justin Wilson to begin its half of the eighth. A single by Sandy Leon pulled the Red Sox within 4-2, but Wilson settled down to get an out and Rodriguez came on to help end the rally.
"We just didn't cash in on the opportunities we created tonight," manager John Farrell said.
Boston's hitters had several long at-bats against Verlander, pushing his pitch count above 40 through just two innings. In the second, Travis Shaw lined a double into the right-field corner, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr.
Despite the loss, Pomeranz said he feels good about how he's progressed over his first two starts since the trade.
"It was nice to get back in that five-day routine and get on a schedule somewhere and kind of fall back into what I've been doing all year," he said. "Just kind of learning how to approach it in a different league and the scouting reports and everything. I think we settled with them pretty good in between starts."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Red Sox: CF Mookie Betts returned to the lineup Monday after missing a pair of games with right knee soreness. ... Manager John Farrell said RHP Craig Kimbrel (left knee surgery) is progressing well and looked good in a short bullpen session. He could make a rehab start as soon as this weekend.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Mike Pelfrey (3-9, 4.78 ERA) is coming off a victory at Chicago last week, in which he allowed the White Sox just one run in 5 1/3 innings. Pelfrey hasn't allowed a home run his last eight road starts, spanning 45 1/3 innings.
Red Sox: RHP Steven Wright (12-5, 2.67) has won his last four starts. His lone appearance against Detroit was last July, when he allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings in a loss.
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