CINCINNATI (AP) — Detroit manager Jim Leyland told reporters Saturday that he wanted to get out of Cincinnati without facing Aroldis Chapman. His wounded Tigers ended up handing the Cuban left-hander his second loss of the season Sunday night.
Austin Jackson homered and hit a two-run double off Chapman during a four-run eighth inning, rallying the Tigers to a 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
"To show you how dumb I am, I was thinking about resting Jackson but when (Brennan) Boesch went down I couldn't," Leyland said.
Jackson came off the disabled list Saturday. Boesch sprained his right ankle sliding into home plate that day and could only pinch-hit on Sunday. But his single loaded the bases in the eighth and helped set up the Tigers' big inning.
Virtually unhittable all season, Chapman (4-2) entered with two on in the eighth and the Reds leading 6-3. He gave up a single to Boesch and hit Matt Young with a pitch, forcing in a run.
"It grazed my elbow," Young said. "For an 0-for-2 day with two strikeouts, it was a good day."
Jackson's double tied it and Young scored the go-ahead run on Chapman's wild pitch, helping the Tigers take two of three in the interleague series.
"The guys played hard and never gave up. They finally did enough to win one. We hung in there," Leyland said. "We beat a guy that throws 105 mph. That's pretty good."
Chapman finished off the middle of Detroit's lineup after the damage was done.
"Sometimes it happens," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "I don't care how good you are. He spoiled us by being so good and he will be great again."
Cincinnati wasted Todd Frazier's homer and career-high four RBIs. The Reds dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh for first place in the NL Central with their third loss in four games.
"I would rather have one RBI and get the win, but we're still in first place," Frazier said. "Tied or not, we're still the leaders."
Brayan Villareal (3-1) pitched two innings for the win. Jose Valverde worked the ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.
The Reds took a 2-0 lead against Drew Smyly in the second on Frazier's broken-bat, two-run single, his second two-run single in two days.
Zack Cozart made it 3-0 with his seventh homer leading off the third inning, the last for Smyly, who left with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand. The rookie left-hander allowed four hits and three runs with one walk and three strikeouts.
"It was the worst blister I've ever seen," Leyland said.
Detroit got on the board against Homer Bailey in the fourth with a two-out rally that started with Prince Fielder's walk. Delmon Young doubled and Fielder scored when second baseman Brandon Phillips couldn't make a do-or-die backhand grab of Ramon Santiago's chopper near second base. Phillips was charged with an error, which was changed two innings later by the official scorer to a hit for Santiago.
The Reds got the run back in the bottom half on Devin Mesoraco's 432-foot solo homer into the second deck in left field off Luis Marte, his fourth homer of the year.
Detroit came right back with Jackson's opposite-field solo shot to right in the fifth, his sixth homer of the season. Bailey then hit Quintin Berry with a pitch and Miguel Cabrera just missed tying the game with a drive that Chris Heisey hauled in a step from the right-center wall.
Frazier gave the Reds a 6-2 lead in the sixth with his seventh homer, a 346-foot, opposite-field fly off Villareal that Berry just missed catching before it bounced off the top of the wall and was gathered in by fans.
"Taking two out of three from a first-place team and a really good team is a step in the right direction. We've certainly been challenged. We need to get a couple of our guys back," Leyland said. "We've got to be tough."
NOTES: Boesch was scratched from the starting lineup because of the right ankle sprain he sustained while scoring the decisive run in Saturday's 3-2 win. He was replaced in right field by Berry. ... LHP Casey Crosby, who isn't scheduled to start for the Tigers until Friday, will be available in the bullpen, Leyland said, adding that he hopes RHP Octavio Dotel might be ready by Tuesday. Dotel hasn't pitched since June 2 because of elbow inflammation. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at a career-high 15 games.