That was definitely not the spot start the Boston Red Sox were looking for from Henry Owens.
Things started off well enough Sunday as Owens mowed down five Detroit Tigers in the first two innings, but the game quickly got out of hand. Four hits, four walks and two three-run homers later, and Owens left the game in an 8-0 hole in the fifth inning.
The Red Sox did put up some nice offense after that — including Andrew Benintendi’s first major league home run — but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Tigers in a 10-5 loss.
Here’s how it unfolded.
GAME IN A WORD
Beating.
The score didn’t necessarily look that bad after Boston turned in a four-run seventh inning, but Owens was clobbered, plain and simple.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Tigers left fielder Justin Upton hit his second three-run home run of the day to make it 10-1 Tigers.
The Red Sox already were having a slow day offensively, and Upton put the game out of reach early.
ON THE BUMP
— Needless to say, Owens didn’t have a very good day. The lefty actually got off to a fairly dominant start, striking out five of his first seven batters. But as is his weakness, Owens walked the other two. Things unraveled in the third when he intentionally walked Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera to get to right fielder J.D. Martinez, who promptly hit a two-run double. Upton’s first three-run homer then gave the Tigers a five-run third inning.
Upton hit another three-run shot in the fifth, and Owens ended his day with eight runs on six hits with five walks, six strikeouts and two home runs over five innings.
— Junichi Tazawa struggled again in the sixth inning, giving up two runs on three singles with two strikeouts. The right-hander came back out in the eighth, though, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning with another strikeout.
— Fernando Abad gave up a walk and a single in the ninth but ultimately got out of the inning.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— It was a day of firsts for Benintendi, who hit his first major league triple in the sixth and followed it with his first home run in the seventh. The left fielder went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.
— Dustin Pedroia went 0-for-2, but he walked and collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
— Sandy Leon picked up a couple of hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
— David Ortiz doubled in the first inning to go 1-for-4.
— Travis Shaw went 0-for-3 but earned a run and an RBI on a fielder’s choice and walked in the ninth.
— Hanley Ramirez (1-for-4) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (1-for-4) each hit a single and scored a run.
— Xander Bogaerts (0-for-4) and Mookie Betts (0-for-3) went hitless. Betts got on base in the eighth inning with a walk.
TWEET OF THE DAY
At least this was a pretty nifty play at first by Ramirez.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox continue their tour of Major League Baseball, heading to St. Petersburg, Fla., to take on the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. David Price will square off against fellow lefty Blake Snell in the 7:10 p.m. contest.
Thumbnail photo via Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports Images
