Game 21: Tigers at Red Sox lineups and notes

On Monday, Crochet turned in the worst performance of his career. He allowed 11 runs (10 earned) on nine hits, three walks and a hit by pitch in just 1⅔ innings in his most recent start Monday at the Twins, a 13-6 loss. His ERA more than doubled. Garrett Crochet will be on the mound Sunday as the Red Sox ace tries to shake off whatever got into his head during his last outing. Alex Speier has more on Crochet’s approach entering Sunday here. First pitch of Sunday’s game against the Tigers was pushed back three hours to 4:35 p.m. due to a forecast for rain in Boston. It’s the third game of a four-game series that culminates on Monday for the annual Patriots’ Day 11 a.m. first pitch. Detroit is countering with lefthander Framber Valdez. Here’s your preview. Stat of the day: The Red SOx struck out 10 times and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position across six innings in Saturday’s 4-1 loss against two-time reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Notes: Boston, a 1-0 winner in 10 innings in Friday’s series opener, has gone back-to-back games scoring one or fewer runs on five or fewer hits. “You have to chip away with aces,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “You have to make sure when you have your chances to cash in, get it close enough.” ... Both of Crochet’s career starts against the Tigers came in 2024, but he’s made nine total appearance against them. He is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA in those games. ... Detroit has had mixed results lately, having won seven of its past eight games while also snapping a nine-game road losing streak on Saturday. “I don’t think any of us are too concerned about our road record (3-9),” Skubal said. “Obviously, it needs to get better and needs to improve. We need to win games on the road, but it’s such a small sample size. ... We’re just trying to win every single day we show up to the yard.” ... Saturday was a multi-hit day for Detroit’s touted infield prospect, Kevin McGonigle, who had an RBI single in the fourth and scored a run in the first. ... Valdez is coming off a season-long outing of seven innings on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals. He allowed just one run on four hits in a 2-1 Detroit win but wasn’t part of the decision. ... Valdez has appeared in six games (four starts) against Boston, going 3-2 with a 3.10 ERA. Information from Field Level Media was used in this report Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.