It was nightmarish on Yawkey Way last night, the Sox ahead, 6-0, after four innings before being outscored, 12-2, the rest of the way in a crushing 12-8 loss to the Tigers that halted a 14-game home winning streak, the fourth longest in club history.
It was, without question, an inglorious end to an amazing run. Five Boston pitchers combined to throw 178 pitches and allow 17 hits, nine for extra bases. In the last three games -- one vs. Kansas City and two vs. Detroit -- the teams at the bottom of the American League Central have assaulted the Sox pitching staff for 27 runs on 42 hits in a mere 26 innings.
''They know that when we play teams like that, we need to hold them down one way or another," said David Ortiz, when asked about the Boston staff. ''We need to put our pitching together and do what we can do because October is a whole different game."
October is also becoming less and less of a certainty. The Yankees scored five in the ninth yesterday to win 8-7 -- Alan Embree, now 2-5, got the win -- and closed the Sox's AL East lead to 1 1/2 games, the smallest margin since July 28.
The issue, of course, is pitching and role changing within the staff. Jonathan Papelbon, previously a starting pitcher, entered the game with the Sox leading, 7-6, in the sixth last night with one Tiger aboard.
Papelbon, in his second major league relief appearance, surrendered Wall doubles on the first two pitches he threw, the first tying the game, the second vaulting Detroit ahead, 8-7. The loss was the 24-year-old's his first major league decision. His line: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K.
Jeremi Gonzalez, usually a long reliever, followed Papelbon. Gonzalez, thrust into a quasi-setup role with Mike Timlin closing, coughed up three runs in an inning of work. After posting 11 2/3 scoreless innings over six appearances, Gonzalez, over the last two nights, has allowed five runs on five hits while recording four outs.
Last night's starting pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, matched a season high by allowing seven runs over 5 1/3 innings, the most damaging blow a Dmitri Young grand slam on a flat fastball.
