Ugh, the Tiger Series...

The Tigers are pretty damn good, so it's not horrendously surprising that Boston struggled.  It's the way that they struggled.  Boston lost three out of four.  But in two of those games, they had the lead late in the game.  The bullpen has been troublesome lately, to say the least.

06/20:  Tigers 4 Red Sox 3 (44-31)
This was the worst one.  Boston lead 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.  Enter embattled closer Andrew Bailey who immediately gave up a walk then a two-run walkoff home run to Jhonny Peralta.  Lost in that was a good performance by John Lackey, a home run by David Ortiz, and Jose Iglesias continuing to shock the world.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

JOHN LACKEY:  7 innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

06/21:  Red Sox 10 (45-31) Tigers 6

Jon Lester's struggles continued.  He had one bad inning but it lead to four Tiger runs.  He gave up five runs once again.  Shane Victorino had a huge game and Jose Iglesias and Stephen Drew each had three hits.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

SHANE VICTORINO:  4 for 5, run, 5 RBIs, home run

06/22:  Tigers 10 Red Sox 3 (45-32)

Allen Webster was once again called up to make a start and he struggled early, giving up a grand slam to former Sox Victor Martinez but then settled down.  He struck out five on the night.  The bullpen was dreadful though with Franklin Morales giving up four runs and Alex Wilson giving up one.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

DAVID ORTIZ:  2 for 4, home run

06/23:  Tigers 7 Red Sox 5 (45-33)

Boston managed to tire out Justin Verlander, knocking him out after five innings, but Felix Doubront did not fare much better.  Boston was ahead into the bottom of the 7th when the tying run scored and then the bullpen melted down in the 8th, giving up three runs.  There was a questionable call in the 8th that hurt quite a bit.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:

 DUSTIN PEDROIA:  3 for 4, 2 runs