Castellanos stays hot as Tigers bounce back at Boston
BOSTON (AP) -- Nick Castellanos remembered seeing Fenway Park's Green Monster as a child and wondering how someone could hit a homer over it.
He had the chance to enjoy it himself Saturday.
Castellanos drove in three runs with a solo homer over the Monster and a double, Alfredo Simon pitched six solid innings and the Detroit Tigers bounced back after consecutive extra-inning losses with a 5-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
"The Green Monster is a baseball icon. Everybody knows what you're talking about -- the amount of movies it's been in," Castellanos said. "I've seen this park countless times. I remember looking at this park when I was younger and seeing how tall it is and saying: `How does anyone hit one over it?' To say I was able to do it in a game is pretty cool."
Castellanos' homer leading off the sixth left Fenway completely, clearing the Monster seats to make it 5-1.
Former Red Sox left fielder Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer and threw out a runner at the plate.
It was just the third win in eight games for the Tigers, who lost the opener of the three-game series 2-1 in 11 innings on Friday. They closed a seven-game homestand with a 3-2 setback against Seattle in 12 on Thursday.
Mookie Betts drove in the run for Boston, which lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
Simon (9-6) gave up one run and five hits before limping off with a slight groin injury after throwing the second pitch in the seventh. He came in with an ERA of 6.08 in nine road starts.
Simon doesn't think he'll miss his next start.
"I don't think it's that bad," he said. "I felt it a little bit and that's when I stopped. I don't want it to be worse."
Cespedes, acquired in a trade for left-hander Jon Lester at last year's non-waiver deadline, homered in the first on a hanging pitch from knuckleballer Steven Wright (3-4), with the ball hitting high off a billboard above the Green Monster and caroming onto the field.
"Probably not as consistent a knuckleball as we've seen from Steven previously," Red Sox manager John Farrell said
Cespedes cut down David Ortiz at the plate when he was trying to score on Hanley Ramirez's single, for the first out in the second.
The Tigers added an unearned run on a walk, two passed balls and James McCann's run-scoring ground out in the second before Castellanos' two-run double made it 4-0.
"I thought it was moving a lot more than it has all year," Wright said. "It's a good problem to have, but it can be a problem."
Boston cut it to 4-1 when Blake Swihart tripled and scored on Betts' bouncer to third.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: Manager Brad Ausmus said 1B Miguel Cabrera, on the 15-day DL since July 4 with a strained left calf, is still "a ways from getting into a game," but he's reached benchmarks that included fielding grounders before the game. "First move from a dead stop is still risky," Ausmus said.
Red Sox: 2B Dustin Pedroia was placed back on the 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring that caused him to miss 16 games before the All-Star break. "(He) feels like he needs a shutdown period to get back over this," Farrell said. ... Ortiz was back in the lineup after getting Friday off with general soreness.
TOUGH DAY
Red Sox C Swihart was charged with four passed balls, two coming in one inning. He also had a foul ball hit off his foot while he was behind the plate.
TRAMMEL STEPS IN
He was wearing No. 4 instead of his signature No. 3, but that was Alan Trammell coaching first base for Detroit.
The former Tigers shortstop and manager, now a special assistant to GM Dave Dombrowski, replaced Omar Vizquel, who left Saturday for his native Venezuela following his father's death.
SHOW SOME HUSTLE
Fans booed Ortiz when he was trotting to first and Simon bobbled his comebacker. He ran harder once he realized Simon had to scamper for the ball before firing to first.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Shane Greene (4-7) is slated to start Sunday night's nationally televised series finale. He hasn't made it out of the fifth inning in two starts since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo.
Red Sox: Rookie LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3) hopes to rebound from a rough start. He was tagged for seven runs, getting only five outs in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels on July 20.
