The loss to Detroit was only Boston's sixth in 20 games
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett had been sharp lately, but could not hold a three-run lead against Detroit Thursday night.BOSTON - The Red Sox said good-bye to May in just about the same shape they were in at the end of April.
They're in last place, but within striking distance of first. Winning 14 of their last 20 games has managed only to get them back to where they were before.
That does not make the month a waste, even if Thursday's 7-3 loss to Detroit was an admittedly flat way to end it.
"We lost this one, but we're playing good baseball. I think we can take something from this homestand,'' said outfielder Scott Podsednik, who joined the Red Sox on May 22.
"The new faces are getting familiar with each other. You want to get 25 guys on the same page, which means getting innings together, and I think this group is starting to mesh.''
Podsednik is hitting .444 on an 8-for-18 start. He had a hit and an RBI from the leadoff spot Thursday.
The Sox still failed to complete a four-game sweep of the Tigers, and ended a 4-3 homestand.
They head into June with a 26-25 record, three games out of first place in the tightly bunched AL East. Now it's off to Toronto, where the Sox play the team just ahead of them.
The Red Sox were 11-11 when April ended, and 3 1/2 games out. They were 7 1/2 games out on May 12.
The Tigers managed four runs and 10 hits in seven innings against Josh Beckett (4-5), who lost an early 3-0 lead.
"It looked like we'd have a good flight to Toronto,'' manager Bobby Valentine said.
"Josh had a really competitive, battling outing. It seemed like he didn't have his best curve until the sixth inning.
"He still did a good job keeping them at bay, and he gave us a chance to win the game.''
Beckett had been lights-out lately, allowing three earned runs and 15 hits in his previous 21 2/3 innings.
Winning pitcher Max Scherzer (5-3) struck out six in six-plus innings. The right-hander leads the majors with 12 strikeouts per nine innings, with a game high of 15 in only seven innings against Pittsburgh.
The Red Sox drilled Scherzer for eight hits and seven runs in 2 2/3 innings at Detroit on April 8. This time, he needed 117 pitches to get into the seventh, but left with a 4-3 lead.
"We let him off the hook. We had good at-bats, had his pitch count up to 80 after four innings, but kind of let it slip away,'' Valentine said.
The Tigers reached the Red Sox bullpen for three late insurance runs.
Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued to build a case for All-Star consideration. The catcher had two RBIs and hit his 10th home run, six of them coming in the last 15 games.
Salty leads all major league catchers in home runs, and all American League receivers in extra-base hits and slugging percentage.
He had six homers in May, the best month of his career.
Saltalamacchia did make two throwing errors. The Tigers stole three bases.
Not having injured Dustin Pedroia didn't help. Nick Punto's average fell to .122, though his seventh-inning walk was Boston's only baserunner after the fourth.