Duran's blast keys 5-run 7th, helps Tolle to 1st 'W' as Sox return to win column

DETROIT -- As Tigers fans cleared the lower seating bowl to escape rain and frequent bursts of lightning, the Red Sox responded with thunder rarely seen from their offense this season.

In the top of the seventh, almost without warning, the Sox erupted for a five-run inning that lifted them to a much-needed 5-4 victory on Monday night at soggy Comerica Park.

The big blow was a three-run homer off the suddenly-hot bat of Jarren Duran, giving the visitors a 3-2 lead. Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer tacked on insurance RBI hits in an inning that saw Boston send 10 batters to the plate.

And the big winner -- literally -- from that five-run frame, was Payton Tolle. Boston’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 overall reeled in his first career win in 11 appearances. Tolle went a career-high seven innings, allowing one hit while walking one and striking out eight.

For his efforts, Tolle got a lineup card presentation from interim manager Chad Tracy as a keepsake and a convoluted shower of beer and other substances from his teammates.

“Not sure what was in that concoction,” Tolle said.

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If only Tolle had been mic’d up for his speech after the celebration.

“Yeah, too bad you guys didn't get to hear his speech,” Duran said. “It was 1/1. That guy's always got something to say, and I love it. I can't wait to see more come his way.”

Tolle was in position to get his first win in his first career start, on Aug. 29 of last season, when Roman Anthony swatted a homer against Paul Skenes that sent Fenway Park into a state of euphoria. But the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead.

Then, there was that night on April 23 against the Yankees, when the power lefty again dazzled but the bullpen lost hold of the lead.

“It took long enough [to get the win]. I’m excited about it,” Tolle said. “I was really looking forward to this. I’m kind of proud of it right now. It was a good day.”

And a wet day.

Tolle fretted that the elements, which prompted a 28-minute rain delay in the eighth inning, would cut his night short and make him wait at least five more days for that first career "W."

“I was thankful that they kept letting me go. They told the fans to go underneath the structure and I was like, ‘Are we about to call this?’ I was happy to keep going out there,” Tolle said.

As Tolle got out of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning, he all but danced in the rain on his way back to the dugout.

“You guys have gotten to know his personality. And he doesn't change much when he's pitching,” Tracy said. “He is pretty happy-go-lucky. In big moments, he sees red and he goes after it. So we're proud of him. Awesome outing.”

While Tolle’s performance was clutch, the bounce-back from the offense came as a relief.

In Sunday’s 3-1, 10-inning loss to the Astros at Fenway Park, the Sox went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, while leaving 13 on base.

Things were trending in a similar way for the first six innings against the Tigers before the narrative changed dramatically in the seventh.

“The big hit came, the big hit that we needed. And then a whole bunch more came after it. So, just a really good win,” Tracy said. “We had more missed opportunities early and kind of said, ‘Hey, keep getting them on there. Somebody's gonna pop one.’ And we did. So it was a big swing by Jarren.”

After a rough first five weeks of the season, Duran has started strong in his first four days of May, going 7-for-18 (.389), including three homers.

“We had great at-bats,” Duran said. “We've been having a lot of great at-bats lately. We just haven't produced with runners in scoring position. We're gonna keep coming up in those situations. It’s baseball. It’s a long season.”