MLB Game Preview - Detroit at Boston

Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:10 PM EDT

So much went right for the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. Yet, at the end of the day, it was another two in the loss column for the defending World Series champions.

The Red Sox will look to rebound from a doubleheader sweep by the visiting Detroit Tigers when the two teams meet in the third contest of a four-game set Wednesday.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 7.20 ERA) will take the mound for Boston opposite Detroit righty Tyson Ross (1-2, 3.38).

Game 1 on Tuesday saw the Red Sox lose 7-4 despite two home runs from Xander Bogaerts and Chris Sale reaching double-digit strikeouts for the first time this season.

In Game 2, touted rookie Michael Chavis crushed a pitch over the Green Monster in left for his first big-league homer, and prospects Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins each enjoyed successful major league debuts out of the bullpen, but Boston still fell 4-2.

The Red Sox left 13 men on base in the night game while going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

"It's disappointing," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We had a lot of traffic out there, and we just didn't get the big hit. ... It felt like the whole game we were one hit away from getting the lead, and you felt like the line was going to keep moving, but it didn't happen."

The doubleheader sweep effectively ended any good vibes the Red Sox were feeling from a weekend sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Tigers, meanwhile, are riding high on the strength of four wins in their past five games since a season-worst five-game skid.

Detroit's Brandon Dixon had three hits and three RBIs in the second game. Combined over the two games, Ronny Rodriguez blasted three doubles and a home run, and struggling infielder Josh Harrison had back-to-back multi-hit efforts.

The Tigers knocked 24 hits in total on the day -- a good sign for a young offense that has struggled to score runs on the road (22 in nine games away from Detroit before Tuesday).

"It was a long day," Tigers skipper Ron Gardenhire said, "but we came out on top and we came out of it healthy. Nobody got too terribly beat up."

Ross will make his first start against the Red Sox after facing them as a reliever three times early in his 10-year career. In his most recent start, Thursday against the Chicago White Sox, he allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits over six innings. The Tigers committed four errors but still won 9-7.

Eduardo Rodriguez has had success against the Tigers in his career, going 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in four starts. After a slow start to the season, the southpaw has looked much better in his two most recent outings, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and striking out 14 in his past 12 innings.

Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi had three hits in Game 2 on Tuesday for his seventh multi-hit performance in his past 14 contests. He has reached base in each of his 18 career games against Detroit.

Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera extended his hitting streak to nine games in the nightcap, his longest such streak since a 10-game run to end 2016.

--Field Level Media