Boston Red Sox centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury claps after his triple off Detroit Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit scored team-mate Xander Bogaerts during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park in Detroit, yesterday.
DETROIT: Detroit’s reshuffled lineup erupted for five runs in the second inning yesterday en route to a 7-3 victory over Boston that knotted baseball’s American League Championship Series.
After the Tigers’ potent offense combined for just six runs over the first three games of the best-of-seven series, manager Jim Leyland reshuffled his batting lineup and saw the move pay off, with the Tigers levelling the set at two games apiece.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” Leyland said of the shake-up, which was welcomed by Torii Hunter.
Hunter replaced struggling Austin Jackson in the leadoff spot and contributed a two-run double.
Jackson, who had been batting .091 in the playoffs until yesterday, was demoted to eighth in the batting order and went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs-batted-in and a run scored.
“I think it just helped me relax,” Jackson said of the move.
Slugger Miguel Cabrera, batting second instead of third, also had two hits, drove in two runs and stole a base for the reigning American League champions, who host game five on Thursday.
“That was pretty good,” Hunter said of the lineup changes. “He kind of switched things up, shook it up a little bit and I think it definitely worked out. It’s just a different mindset, Miggy hitting second, me leading off. It gave us a different mindset to go out there and make some things happen.”
Detroit will try to maintain the momentum today, when they send Anibal Sanchez to the mound against Boston ace Jon Lester. Sanchez and four relievers came within two outs of posting the first combined no-hitter in post-season history in the series opener, which ended with Detroit taking a 1-0 victory.
The winners of the series will take on the National League champions in Major League Baseball’s World Series.
In Los Angeles, pitcher Zach Greinke survived a shaky start before dominating and Adrian Gonzalez powered two homers as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St Louis Cardinals 6-4 yesterday to stave off playoff elimination.
With their backs to the wall going into a must-win Game Five at Dodger Stadium, the home team’s offense sizzled in bright afternoon sunshine as they trimmed the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
Left-hander Gonzalez set the tone with his first home run in the bottom of the third before adding a second in the eighth, while Carl Crawford and AJ Ellis also weighed in with huge blasts to keep St Louis under continual pressure. Former Cy Young winner Greinke initially struggled on the mound but dug his way out of a jam in the top of the first with bases loaded and no outs, striking out Matt Adams and getting Yadier Molina to ground into an inning-ending double-play.
“That was big,” Greinke told reporters.
0“I was real nervous out there with that situation and trying to make a good pitch and get Adams to chase and get him into a double-play.
“And then Molina, I know if you hit on the ground there is a good chance it’s either going to be a hit or a double-play. Risky going in, bases loaded, because he could do some damage.
“He can adjust to anything and I kind of got lucky, I guess. I made a good pitch but still even with a good pitch he can hurt you. It just worked out.”
After enduring two rough innings to start, Greinke reverted to his usual dominance, allowing just two runs and six hits while striking out four and walking one in seven innings pitched.
The Los Angeles batters took control in the bottom of the second, sparking thunderous roars at Dodger Stadium with RBI singles from Juan Uribe and Greinke as they opened up a 2-0 lead.
Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday each drove in a run to tie the score in the top of the third for St Louis before Gonzalez blasted the first homer of the afternoon to right field in the bottom of the inning to put the Dodgers ahead 3-2.
Crawford kept the power surge going for the Dodgers, hitting a massive homer 447 feet into the right-field pavilion in the bottom of the fifth, and Ellis followed suit with another blast in the bottom of the seventh.Agencies
