DETROIT (AP) — Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched five strong innings to win for the first time this season and manager Terry Francona earned his 500th victory as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Tuesday night.
Francona became the third Boston manager to reach that plateau with the Red Sox, joining Joe Cronin (1,071) and Mike Higgins (560).
Matsuzaka (1-3) came into the game with a 8.82 ERA in four starts, but allowed just one run and six hits with three walks. He matched a season-high with six strikeouts, and the Red Sox helped him with three double plays.
Four Boston relievers finished. The Tigers didn’t get a hit from the fourth inning until they started the ninth with three straight singles off Jonathan Papelbon.
Josh Anderson fouled off eight straight pitches before striking out, and Papelbon then struck out pinch-hitter Jeff Larish and Ramon Santiago to end the game.
Rookie Rick Porcello (6-4) lost for the first time since April, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk in 4 1-3 innings.
The teams traded single runs in the first. Dustin Pedroia led off the game with a double and scored on J.D. Drew’s single, but Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the inning on Miguel Cabrera’s RBI single.
The Red Sox left the bases loaded in the second when Pedroia grounded out, but Drew led off the third with a single and came home on Jason Bay’s one-out homer.
Porcello and fellow rookie Ryan Perry kept Boston scoreless until the sixth. With one out, Perry walked Jason Varitek, and after a Jacoby Ellsbury single, he walked Nick Green and Pedroia to drive home Boston’s fourth run.
Brandon Lyon replaced Perry and got Drew to ground into a force at the plate, but then hit Youkilis to force in another run.
Notes: Tigers radio announcer Dan Dickerson returned to the booth Tuesday after missing six games with a jogging injury. … The Red Sox activated OF Mark Kotsay from the disabled list before the game. Kotsay has missed the entire season after back surgery. … RHP John Smoltz (shoulder) will make his fourth rehab start of the season Friday for Triple-A Pawtucket. If it goes well, manager Terry Francona said the pitcher could join the club next week. … David Ortiz was 1-for-5, striking out three times and grounding into an inning-ending double play.