Five Tiger pitchers (Aníbal Sánchez, Al Alburquerque, José Veras, Drew Smyly and Joaquín Benoit) combined to strike out 17 and hold the Red Sox hitless for 8+1⁄3 innings.
He was then lifted for a pinch-runner, former Tiger Quintin Berry, who stole second base with two outs but was stranded there when Xander Bogaerts popped to shortstop to end the game.
José Veras allowed a one-out double to Will Middlebrooks, and Drew Smyly was brought in to face Jacoby Ellsbury, whom he promptly walked.
[12] Jonny Gomes led off with an infield single-off reliever Rick Porcello, and advanced to second on a throwing error by Tiger shortstop José Iglesias.
Boston escaped a jam in the bottom of the eighth inning when a walk to Austin Jackson and a single by Torii Hunter put runners on first and third with one out.
After Omar Infante was robbed on a diving catch by right fielder Shane Victorino, Austin Jackson walked on four pitches to give the Tigers a 1–0 lead.
José Iglesias then hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but Dustin Pedroia bobbled the ball and was only able to force Jackson at second, allowing Peralta to score.
Mike Napoli led off the second inning with a massive home run that landed in the ivy well beyond the 420-foot (130 m) center field wall at Comerica Park.
Jacoby Ellsbury then lined a ball off the glove of Sánchez, which trickled away for an infield single, allowing Bogaerts to score the third run of the inning.
After holding the Tigers scoreless for 4+2⁄3 innings, Lester allowed a two-out RBI single by Miguel Cabrera, scoring Austin Jackson from second.
After 4+1⁄2 scoreless innings, during which Dustin Pedroia missed a home run off the left field foul pole by inches in the third, Boston drew first blood against Scherzer.
Brandon Workman then came in and induced a bizarre double play in which Martinez was tagged by Dustin Pedroia, followed by Fielder getting caught between third and home in a rundown.
[18] Jonny Gomes led off the seventh with a double and after a Stephen Drew strikeout and a walk by Bogaerts, Ellsbury hit a ground ball that popped out of the glove of José Iglesias for an error.
After Craig Breslow tossed a perfect eighth, Koji Uehara, who would receive MVP honors, earned the save by pitching a scoreless ninth.
Martinez signed a free agent contract with the Red Sox during the 2017-2018 off-season to essentially replace David Ortiz at designated hitter, who retired after the 2016 season.
[21] In 2017, the Red Sox's first season in 15 years without David Ortiz, the team struggled mightily at designated hitter and with runners in scoring position.
It turned out Martinez fit the Red Sox like a glove in 2018, as he finished 4th in MVP voting (his teammate Mookie Betts won the award), hitting .330 and batting in a league-high 130 runs.
Also on the 2018 Red Sox was long-time Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello, who would finally reach his potential in 2016, winning 22 games and a Cy Young Award in Boston.
Detroit would make one final push for a World Series the following season, acquiring All-Stars Ian Kinsler and David Price in trades and featuring a pitching rotation that would include five past or future Cy Young winners.
The Tigers would win the AL Central for the fourth straight year with a 90-72 record, but were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series.