BOSTON _ The defending World Series champions woke up.
After getting swept by the Detroit Tigers in a doubleheader on Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox responded with an 11-4 win Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox did damage against right-hander Tyson Ross, putting 10 runners on base in five innings, scoring four times. Ross was unable to pitch effectively without the slider at his disposal.
He walked three batters and struck out five.
The Tigers could not continue their offensive progress from a night before, totaling six hits. Boston lefty Eduardo Rodriguez kept their lineup at bay and didn't allow a hit until Gordon Beckham singled with one out in the fifth inning.
They threatened to come back in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with two outs, but Matt Barnes struck out Ronny Rodriguez swinging.
The game got out of hand in the eighth inning, when the Red Sox scored seven runs. In that frame, manager Ron Gardenhire made two pitching changes. Drew VerHagen walked home three batters.
The Tigers scored three runs with two outs in the ninth.
With the loss, the Tigers are 12-11.
Though the Tigers limited the Sox damage on Tuesday, Ross couldn't do the same Wednesday. He was victimized by not only a sharp slider that didn't show up, but also falling behind in counts. Boston scored twice in the second inning and then twice in the fifth, when Mookie Betts hit an RBI double and J.D. Martinez hit an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.
After the Tigers kept Martinez off the bases for the first time this season in the first game Tuesday, and held him to one single in the night cap, he went 3 for 5 with the rarest of doubles. In the second, he hit a ground ball down the left-field line, lodging it in a garage door in the corner. The play was ruled a ground-rule double, and needed to be kicked loose by Niko Goodrum.
Miguel Cabrera just missed a three-run home run earlier in the game, pounding a ball to the warning track in dead center field, but extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the eighth. The hit was No. 2,700 of Cabrera's major league career. He remains homerless on the season.
