Iglesias knows Red Sox are dangerous on bases

DETROIT -- Besides making his usual dazzling plays in the infield with his glove, Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias has been aggressive with his arm to make plays.

In the third inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night, Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury drilled a ball off the right-field wall, and thought about stretching his single into a double. While he wasn't far off the base, Iglesias fired the ball back to first on the relay and nearly threw Ellsbury out as he retreated back to the bag.

The downside to Iglesias' aggressiveness would be his errant throw on an infield single in the ninth inning of Game 2, which the Red Sox turned into the winning run on a walk-off single. However, with the speed of Boston, Iglesias doesn't want to take any chances with runners on base.

"I'm just trying to make some plays for my team," Iglesias said. "Little things when you can turn a double play is big. They are pretty good. We don't want those guys on base. They run pretty good, they're really good baserunners. So we just try to turn double plays as much as possible."

Iglesias also respects that the Red Sox are trying to make additional defensive plays of their own. Shane Victorino fielded a sharp single by Iglesias in right field during Game 4 and fired the ball to first base, though Iglesias was hustling down the line.

It's nothing new for Victorino, who tried to throw out Miguel Cabrera at first base on a couple of singles to right field in their series at Comerica Park in June.

"You never know with Shane," Iglesias said. "He's a pretty talented player. It was a good try. He tried to make a play for his team. He did what he's supposed to do."