Tigers' Báez hits three-run homer in 11th inning to beat Red Sox

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on May 13, 2025

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT – The Javier Báez renaissance is real.

Báez's second three-run home run of the night, this one in the bottom of the 11th, gave the Tigers a dramatic, walk-off 10-9 win over the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park.

His three-run homer in the sixth had put the Tigers up 6-4.

The Red Sox had taken a 9-7 lead in the top of the 11th when rookie Kristian Campbell launched a first-pitch, 97-mph sinker from reliever Beau Brieske into the greenery above the wall in right field.

After giving back four different leads, they came to bat in the bottom of the 10th trailing the Boston Red Sox 7-6. And they were down to the final strike when shortstop Trey Sweeney lined a single to right field, scoring free runner Zach McKinstry to tie the game and send it to the 11th.

This was the night manager AJ Hinch debuted the 2025 version of pitching chaos and it didn’t go quite as smoothly as you might’ve remembered it from last year.

After a clutch, two-out, three-run home run by Báez put the Tigers up 6-4 after six innings, David Hamilton hit a two-out, two-run homer off reliever Tommy Kahnle to tie the game in the top of the seventh.

The Red Sox had scored their free runner in the top of the 10th on a fielder's choice ground out by Ceddanne Rafaela.

The Tigers had given back three leads earlier in the game and came to bat in the sixth down 4-3.

Spencer Torkelson drew a walk to start the inning against right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock and he was on second base with two outs. Jace Jung, hitting .098, kept the inning alive grinding through an eight-pitch at-bat, fouling off three tough two-strike pitches before taking one off the foot.

Báez, who is leading the Tigers with a .314 batting average, unloaded on a 1-0 slider from Whitlock that backed up over the heart of the plate.

His fourth homer of the year left his bat with an exit velocity of 106 mph and flew 392 feet.

The Tigers lead baseball with 101 runs scored with two outs and Báez is a big part of that, slashing .387/.406/.613 with runners in scoring position.

About that chaos:

Reliever Tyler Holton opened the game, just as he did 11 times last season, including twice in the postseason. He reprised the role fairly well, getting the first five hitters before Nick Sogard slapped a two-out double.

Hinch went to his bulk guy right then, calling on righty Keider Montero. This is where the chaos nearly veered into crisis.

Montero gave up an RBI single to Carlos Narvaez, which tied the game 1-1.

Montero also gave up one-run leads in the fourth and fifth innings.

After the Tigers were gifted a run on a throwing error by catcher Narvaez in the third, Montero hung a slider to Alex Bregman leading off the fourth.

Bregman, still being booed before every at-bat, launched it into the seats in left, his 10th homer.

Torkelson led off the bottom of the fourth with his 11 th homer, an opposite field shot to right.

Montero gave that lead back in the span of three batters in the fifth: single by David Hamilton, RBI double by Rafaela on a lazy 0-2 slider and a two-strike single by Jarren Duran.

Montero, who pitched eight strong innings in Colorado last Thursday and is up to replace injured Casey Mize (hamstring) for at least two starts, ended up allowing those three runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Things got dicey in a hurry for lefty Brant Hurter, too. He loaded the bases with one out in the sixth. But he bowed his neck and struck out Refaela and Duran to end the threat.

Huge pivot-point ahead of Baez’s blast in the bottom of the sixth.

From that point on, it felt like pitching chaos was back on script.

It was not.

Hurter got lefty Rafael Devers to open the seventh and gave way to right-hander Brenan Hanifee who got four straight outs – one on a sensational full-out diving catch in left by Riley Greene.

But Hinch went to righty Tommy Kahnle after Narvaez reached on an infield single.

Hamilton blasted a 2-1 changeup into the seats in right field. It was the first homer Kahnle had allowed this season and just the second for Hamilton and it tied the game 6-6.

Will Vest pitched a scoreless ninth and inherited the free runner at second base in the 10th. Narvaez hit a bullet that Jung couldn't field at third base and the Red Sox quickly had runners at the corners and no outs. Vest struck out Hamilton and got Rafaela to hit a bouncer to Jung at third.

He got the force out at second but Rafaela beat Gleyber Torres' throw to first and the run scored.

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