DETROIT _ Matt Boyd threw 102 pitches on Wednesday night.
Sixty-six of them were thrown for strikes. A bunch of them were located well. He induced swings-and-misses, kept the Cleveland Indians batters off-balance at the plate and pitched his best game of the season. But there was one pitch he didn't locate well.
And that pitch, a belt-high fastball to Jose Ramirez, is the one he will regret.
Ramirez's two-run triple in the top of the fourth inning was the difference. He then came around to score on a sacrifice fly, it was all right-hander Carlos Carrasco and the back-end of the Indians bullpen needed to beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2.
The blemish aside _ set-up by his only streak of ineffectiveness _ Boyd was great. He became the first Tiger starter this season to pitch into the eighth inning, throwing 72/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked three.
Before Ramirez tripled, Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley opened the inning with back-to-back singles.
Boyd wasn't backed by much offense, which was to be expected against Carrasco, who is one of the best hurlers in the American League.
The Tigers got to Carrasco twice: Jim Adduci hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and Victor Martinez hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
They were unable to get the equalizer against former Tiger Andrew Miller, who pitched two scoreless innings, or Cody Allen, who picked up his seventh save of the season despite two walks.
Allen struck out Jim Adduci looking with runners on the corners to end the game.
In addition to the loss, the Tigers were without second baseman Ian Kinsler for the last three innings. Kinsler was lifted with left hamstring tightness, according to the team, and will be re-evaluated Thursday.
The Tigers are 14-13, while the Indians are 15-12. The series finale, pending rain, is Thursday afternoon.
