Split Decision

David Ortiz played the hero in Game One of Monday's doubleheader in Detroit but Tigers ace Justin Verlander shut down the Sox potent offense in the nightcap to spoil any chance of a clean sweep for Boston. 

You know what they say. 

Good pitching always beats good hitting. 

Proving the case once again, all that could stop the Sox from taking both games of a doubleheader Sunday in Detroit and sweep the three game series was the golden arm of Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

After David Ortiz hit a pinch-hit homer in the 9th to give Boston the first game 4-3, the Tigers bounced back in the night cap to secure a 4-0 victory thanks to a spectacular performance from the Tiger ace. 

With the split, the Red Sox finish their seven-game road trip through Cleveland and Detroit with an impressive 5-2 record. The overall record stands at 30-23, one game up on the hated Yankees for first place in the AL East. 

In the first game, the Red Sox picked up an early lead after home runs in the first two innings from Dustin Pedroia and Mike Cameron, who has gone 4-6 in his last two games. 

Sox starter Clay Buchholz seemed to be cruising until the bottom of the 6th when he surrendered a 3-1 lead by giving up a solo home run to Brennan Boesch and then an RBI single to Johnny Peralta. 

The game remained tied 3-3 until the top of the 9th. 

Luckily for the Sox, manager Terry Francona elected to pinch-hit David Ortiz in place of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. 

The move paid immediate dividends as Big Papi took Jose Valverde (2-2) deep for the game-winning, pinch-hit home run. 

"It's not like I have too many options coming off the bench to pinch hit," admitted Big Papi after the game. "I just looked for one pitch."

The pinch-hit homer was the first for Ortiz since 2003 when he hit his first career home run with the Sox as a pinch-hitter in the 14th inning of a game against the Angels.

"He made Tito look like a genius," mused Buchholz. "He threw him out there at the right time."

Matt Albers (1-2) came on in relief of Buccholz to pick up the win.

The Tigers snapped the Red Sox five game winning streak in the night cap thanks to a sparkling performance on the mound from Justin Verlander (5-3). The Detroit ace threw a career-high 132 pitches and over 7 2/3 quality innings, allowing just four hits to silence the potent Boston offense and shutout the Sox 3-0. 

"He had everything," said Francona of Verlander. "Velocity, breaking ball, changeup. Shoot, he got up in his pitch count and he started throwing harder. 

Verlander's final pitch was clocked at an astounding 100 miles-per-hour. 

Josh Beckett (4-2) was the hard-luck loser for the Sox, allowing just two runs over six quality innings. His ERA remains at a microscopic 1.80.  

It may have taken longer than fans wanted it to, but the Red Sox appear to have hit their stride. 

After all, they're in first place for the first time all season. 

From where they began the year, that's saying a lot.