Detroit Tigers: Boston Red Sox rout Tigers, 11-1

There is no way to sugar coat this one. The Detroit Tigers were awful on Sunday night and the ESPN broadcast let everyone know about it.

Right-hander Shane Greene was up in the zone with his fastball all night, and it finally caught up to him in the fifth inning while the Tigers bats fell silent. Boston out-hit Detroit, 20-3, as the Red Sox took the weekend series finale at Fenway Park, 11-1.

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz led the way, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, seven RBI and three runs. His first three-run homer broke the, 1-1, tie in the fifth. His second three-run bomb extended the lead to, 11-1, in the seventh.

Ortiz’s seven RBI set a new career-high while the 20 hits was a season-high for Boston.

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts also had four hits, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

Loyal Tigers fans that have watched Fox Sports Detroit all season have continued to hear positive thoughts about Greene’s pitching. That wasn’t the case on Sunday as former major league pitcher and ESPN anaylst Curt Schilling heavily criticized Greene for his inability to keep his fastball down in the zone.

More from Motor City Bengals

• Detroit Tigers: Victor Reyes finding ways to get the job done
• The Detroit Tigers must cut their losses and release Jonathan Schoop
• Detroit Tigers: Garrett Hill’s new role and changed delivery are excellent
• Detroit Tigers: Joe Jiménez has rebounded in 2022
• Detroit Tigers: Is it finally time to move the fences in at Comerica Park?

Despite Schilling being correct, Greene was able to keep the game scoreless until the fourth. Boston broke through with a run in that inning and then chased Greene with four more runs in the fifth. The right-hander finished with five earned runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

He now has a 9.20 ERA in his last 13 outings.

It was also a bad night for the Tigers bullpen. In his return to the big league club, Kyle Ryan allowed three runs in 1 1/3 innings and Neftali Feliz yielded three runs in his one frame.

Tigers fans, however, are used to the pitching staff blowing up, but they aren’t used to such a listless effort with the bats.

Third baseman Nick Castellanos supplied the only offense for Detroit with a solo homer in the fifth. Catcher James McCann‘s double in the third and right fielder J.D. Martinez‘s single in the seventh were the Tigers only other hits.

McCann was promptly erased on the base paths after his double when he tried to advance to third on a ground ball to the shortstop Bogaerts two at-bats later. Although it doesn’t matter much in a 10-run defeat, those types of plays have plagued the Tigers offense all season long.

The loss moves Detroit back to two games below .500. The Tigers continue their 10-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Monday as they desperately try and stay relevant in the American League.

As bad as the Tigers have been, having not won a series since the first week of July, Detroit is only four games back of the Minnesota Twins for the second Wild Card spot.

Next: Rumors: Price not coming back in 2016