Listless Red Sox lose 5th straight vs. Tigers

Aug. 4—The Red Sox lost their fifth straight game Tuesday night, falling to the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in another listless performance. Boston took an early 2-0 lead on a J.D. Martinez RBI single and a solo home run by Hunter Renfroe, but the Tigers came back, taking the lead on an RBI double by Akil Baddoo in the fifth and adding an insurance run an RBI single by Robbie Grossman in the seventh.

1. Offensive struggles continue

An off day and a change of scenery didn't help the Red Sox offense break out of its recent slump. After going 3 for 18 with runners in scoring position while leaving 26 men on base against Tampa Bay this past weekend, the Red Sox went 1 for 4 with RISP while leaving eight men on against Detroit.

Alex Verdugo in particular had a tough day at the plate. The left fielder went 0 for 4, grounded into a double play with men on the corners to end the second and then struck out with men on first and second to end the fifth.

2. Robles looking good

Newly acquired reliever Hansel Robles has looked good since arriving from Minnesota, and on Tuesday he posted his second straight scoreless appearance with the Red Sox. Robles allowed one hit while striking out three over a scoreless inning of work, with his fastball averaging close to 97 mph.

3. Cabrera gets 498

Detroit's Miguel Cabrera is closing in on both 500 career home runs and 3,000 career hits, and Tuesday he took a big step towards both milestones. First Cabrera launched a solo shot off Garrett Richards for his 498th career homer, and by game's end he finished 2 for 4 to reach 2,944 career hits, passing Frank Robinson for 35th in MLB history. Should Cabrera reach 500 homers and 3,000 hits, he would become just the seventh player in baseball history to surpass both milestones.

4. Barnes to COVID list

Red Sox closer Matt Barnes was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday after he was reportedly feeling under the weather. Manager Alex Cora said they were still awaiting Barnes' test results when he addressed the media pre-game and that another unnamed player was also sick but had tested negative.

The Red Sox also activated utility man Marwin Gonzalez (right hamstring strain) from the 10-day IL. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 in his first game back.

5. One more rehab start for Sale

While Cora wouldn't commit 100%, the Red Sox manager said Chris Sale's upcoming rehab start at Triple-A Worcester on Saturday will "most likely" be his last. If that start goes well and Sale doesn't experience any setbacks, he could return to the big leagues during Boston's upcoming homestand, likely in the Aug. 12-14 range against either the Tampa Bay Rays or Baltimore Orioles.

Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com. Twitter: @MacCerullo.