Ronny's Monster game backs Boyd at Fenway

BOSTON -- Matthew Boyd gave the Tigers another seven-inning outing for his second straight start on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Fenway Park.

The lefty fanned three, held the the Red Sox to just three hits (a season-low for Boyd) and allowed three runs, including a homer to Xander Bogaerts, in the Tigers’ 7-4 win. Boyd retired his final three batters in order, finishing the game with 87 pitches (59 strikes).

Boyd improved to 2-1 on the season with a 3.16 ERA. He has allowed three runs or fewer in five straight starts.

“Just attacking early, getting in the zone early,” Boyd said. “It’s nice when teams swing early at you. It helps it out, too.”

Boyd started off the game with a 10-pitch first inning and needed just four pitches to retire the side in the second. Efficient defense also helped stretch his afternoon, as the Tigers turned three double plays.

“Boyd did a really nice job using his pitches, his sinker, his slider, got some ground balls, and we turned probably three or four of them,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Two outs with one pitch is a good thing.

Boyd didn’t want to exit the game. In fact, Gardenhire had planned for him to start the eighth inning until the seventh went longer than the manager preferred for him to stay in.

“Throwing the ball over and working the counts and not having too many high-number innings with pitches, that always keeps him in the game,” Gardenhire said. “This is a dangerous team over there. Those guys [the Red Sox] can really hit. He did a real nice job of changing it up and using his spinners and changeup. It was a good performance by him.

The Red Sox, riding a three-game sweep of the first-place Rays, anticipated challenging at-bats against Boyd. J.D. Martinez, who entered the game batting .350, was held hitless, including two strikeouts.

“I think Boyd has given everybody problems,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “You start looking at his numbers, the real numbers, and there’s a lot of swings and misses and weak contact in the zone. … His stuff, coming into the game, we knew that although it’s not hard, but he goes to certain spots and he’s not an easy guy to get on top of it. His slider, it’s a lot different from last year.”

Boyd got support when it mattered -- and plenty from Ronny Rodríguez, who went 3-for-4 on the day, including a homer over The Green Monster and an RBI double off Red Sox starter Chris Sale.

Tied at 3 in the eighth, Josh Harrison -- who had been moved out of the leadoff spot to get into a better hitting rhythm -- drove in two runs with a double. Grayson Greiner then followed up his fifth-inning homer with an RBI single to bring home Harrison. The catcher’s hitting streak now stands at eight games. After trailing 2-0, the Tigers outscored the Red Sox 7-2 the rest of the game.