The Red Sox weren’t able to come away from Game 1 of the ALCS with the result they were hoping for, but there’s a reason the series goes seven games.
The Sox were held hitless through eight innings until Daniel Nava hit a single in the ninth. Former Red Sox farmhand Anibal Sanchez combined with four other Tigers pitchers for a one-hit shutout in the 1-0 Sox loss.
The Tigers got on the board first in the sixth inning after Sox starter Jon Lester walked Miguel Cabrera and plunked Prince Fielder to put two men on base. Lester was one strike away from leaving the inning unharmed, but Jhonny Peralta got a piece of an offspeed offering and knocked it into center field for an RBI single.
The Sox had a chance to take over in the sixth, when Sanchez walked Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava, but in the end the Sox left the bases loaded.
It came down to the wire, and the Sox still had a shot at tying things up in the ninth after Stephen Drew made a crucial running over-the-shoulder catch for the third out in the top of the frame. The Sox just couldnt advance anyone around the bases, leaving the tying run at second.
