Homers, small ball, Sox do it all in fiery beatdown of Tigers

DETROIT -- In two impressive nights in Detroit, the Red Sox have made their near season-long offensive slump look like a distant memory.

Could the Boston bats at last be turning the corner?

After Monday’s five-run outburst in the seventh inning that led to a 5-4 victory over the Tigers, Tuesday’s encore included a barrage of powerful moments against Detroit lefty Framber Valdez en route to a 10-3 conquest at Comerica Park.

There could be a temptation to say, “What took so long?” But that isn’t productive.

All that matters for the Red Sox is what’s ahead. And after a long hitting drought that started in late March and continued throughout April, they are starting to like what they see.

“Yeah, I think moving the line, putting the ball in play, going first to third, running the bases well,” shortstop Trevor Story said. “I think that's kind of the offense we've been constructed to be. Making plays on the basepaths and putting pressure on the defense. The difference is we've been coming up with a big hit, too, with runners in scoring position.”

Ceddanne Rafaela got the party started with a three-run homer to right field in the top of the first. During a five-run third inning, the Sox hid the power ball and hit exclusively singles, including run-scoring ones from Rafaela, Andruw Monasterio, Caleb Durbin and Connor Wong.

In the fourth, the blasts were back. In fact, they came back-to-back. Willson Contreras led off the frame with his eighth homer of the season (a Statcast-projected 449-foot shot finished by a vintage bat flip). Wilyer Abreu followed by mauling one over the wall in right.

Where did all this come from?

“We’re putting at-bats together as a team,” Rafaela said. “That’s what we’re capable of and if we continue to do this, we’re going to be in a great spot at the end of September. I believe in this group. We’re going to be in a great spot.”

Finally, it seems, Boston’s offense has some momentum. Results breed confidence.

“Yes, of course, everybody is feeling better,” Rafaela said. “Everybody's putting together better at-bats and keeping the line moving. I think everybody stuck to the plan we had. We went into today’s game to be aggressive in the zone. And that’s what he did today.”

Valdez didn’t seem to know what hit him.

And perhaps giving up 10 runs in a start the day after the Tigers lost ace Tarik Skubal to an elbow injury was too much for the sometimes temperamental lefty to handle at that point, because he drilled Story on the first pitch after the Abreu homer.

Understandably, Story was upset, and he was held back by home-plate umpire Adam Beck. Both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown. Valdez was ejected, as his intentions seemed obvious to all.

“I thought it was weak,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “And I thought everybody saw it -- their side, our side. I think everybody saw it and, yeah, it was weak.”

What pleased Tracy is the way Story’s teammates immediately backed him up on the field.

“I think they didn't hesitate. They were out there. Nothing escalated. They weren't happy about it, obviously, but they were there, which was important,” Tracy said.

What is most important is for Boston to continue to produce offensively and support the pitching staff.

And sometimes, one game can carry into the next. As the Red Sox witnessed with a measure of satisfaction on Tuesday.

“I do think the inning yesterday, where we got the big hits, and Jarren [Duran’s three-run] home run, and then all of a sudden, some things sort of string together,” Tracy said. “I think as I said before, it's going to take a moment like that where we get a couple big hits in an inning, and maybe it cuts loose, and we continued today. So the key is to keep doing it. But we keep getting base runners, and now we're capitalizing on those opportunities.”

Though the batting barrage was the lead story, Brayan Bello provided a nice second subplot with his best pitching performance in weeks. Used in bulk relief in this one, the righty pounded the strike zone with precision in a seven-inning performance in which he allowed one run on four hits and one walk, while striking out seven.

While there is still a game to play at Comerica Park on Wednesday night, the Sox (15-21) clinched their first series victory in three tries under Tracy.