BOSTON, Mass. — Through seven innings of Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday, all was going the Detroit Tigers’ way.
Max Scherzer had just finished a brilliant outing: one run, two hits, and 13 strikeouts. Alex Avila’s two-run home run and RBI single, paired with Miguel Cabrera’s solo homer and Victor Martinez’s RBI double had given the Tigers a 5-1 lead and a great chance to take a 2-0 series lead back to Detroit.
The Boston Red Sox had other plans.
David Ortiz hit a game-tying grand slam off Joaquin Benoit in the eighth inning, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth off Rick Porcello capped an improbable 6-5 win for the Red Sox, who have tied the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.
Scherzer, the league leader in regular season wins with 21, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning — the second straight night a Detroit starter had done so. Anibal Sanchez threw six no-hit innings for the Tigers in a 1-0 win in Game 1 on Saturday.
Game 3 of the ALCS will be at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday. Justin Verlander will start for the Tigers, and the Red Sox will counter with John Lackey.
Coverage starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT on FOX 17.
