interception after taking over midgame when Ryan Fitzpatrick

BOSTON -- Justin Verlander gave the Detroit Tigers a quality start Monday night, and they capitalized. They could use more of that in a tightening AL Central race.Jose Iglesias hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Verlander pitched six solid innings and the Tigers beat the Red Sox 4-2 to spoil Drew Pomeranzs second start with Boston.Victor Martinez and James McCann also drove in runs for the Tigers. Detroit pulled within 5 1/2 games of idle AL Central-leading Cleveland.I think its start by start, Verlander said. You tend to string starts together, occasionally. Im not thinking about the last one that happened, just thinking about the next one.Verlander (10-6) allowed one run and five hits and struck out five to pick up the victory. He is 3-0 in his last five starts.Francisco Rodriguez earned his 28th save.Pomeranz (8-8), recently acquired from the San Diego Padres, gave up four hits and struck out seven in six innings. Both of the runs he allowed came via Iglesias homer.Boston, which had scored 46 runs in its last six outings, failed to homer Monday. That ended a streak of 15 straight games with at least one.Pomeranz entered Mondays start looking to bounce back from his dismal Boston debut last week against San Francisco, in which he gave up five runs in just three innings.He was cruising through five innings Monday, allowing just two hits. That changed in the sixth when Iglesias crushed Pomeranzs fastball high over the Green Monster in left for a two-run homer to put the Tigers up 2-1.It was the first career homer in Fenway for Iglesias, who started his career in Boston before being traded to Detroit in 2013.When I was here I never had the opportunity to do that so I was really happy to do that against them, he said.Iglesias scored his second run of the game in the eighth, trotting across home plate on Martinezs single off reliever Clay Buchholz to make it 4-1.I had a good curveball tonight. I was locating my fastball a lot better, Pomeranz said. I was in a lot better counts all night. I really made one bad pitch.Boston loaded the bases on three straight singles off Justin Wilson to begin its half of the eighth. A single by Sandy Leon pulled the Red Sox within 4-2, but Wilson settled down to get an out and Rodriguez came on to help end the rally.Bostons hitters had several long at-bats against Verlander, pushing his pitch count above 40 through just two innings. In the second, Travis Shaw lined a double into the right-field corner, scoring Jackie Bradley Jr.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann, who has been sidelined since July 1 with a right neck strain, began a rehab assignment in Triple-A Toledo on Sunday night.Red Sox: CF Mookie Betts returned to the lineup Monday after missing a pair of games with right knee soreness. ... Manager John Farrell said RHP Craig Kimbrel (left knee surgery) is progressing and looked good in a short bullpen session. He could make a rehab start this weekend.KEEPING OPTIONS OPENRed Sox management is keeping its ears open to trade offers, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said its not something he believes must happen to make a postseason push. He thinks the bullpen, which has been battered by injuries, will bounce back when Junichi Tazawa and Kimbrel are back to full strength. I think were in position where were open-minded, but not a necessity, Dombrowski said.RETURN TRIPTigers C Jarrod Saltalamacchia made his first return to Fenway Park since he left in free agency in 2013 to join the Miami Marlins. The Red Sox honored him with a video tribute after the second inning. I feel like Boston gave me my second chance, he said. I was in Texas, sitting in Triple-A and they traded for me, gave me an opportunity to play here -- kind of resurge, resurrect my career.UP NEXTTigers: RHP Mike Pelfrey (3-9, 4.78 ERA) is coming off a victory at Chicago last week, in which he allowed the White Sox just one run in 5 1/3 innings. Pelfrey hasnt allowed a home run his last eight road starts, spanning 45 1/3 innings.Red Sox: RHP Steven Wright (12-5, 2.67) has won his last four starts. His lone appearance against Detroit was last July, when he allowed four runs over 4 1/3 innings in a loss.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Wholesale White Sox Jerseys . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. White Sox Jerseys 2020 . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Fake White Sox Jerseys . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Chicago White Sox Gear . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. HOUSTON -- Tom Savage will start at quarterback for the Houston Texans on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.Coach Bill OBrien announced the decision on Monday, a day after Savage took over in the second quarter when Brock Osweiler was benched against the Jacksonville Jaguars.We make decisions on what we think is the best way to help the team, what helps the team win, OBrien said.And I think that yesterday and this week I feel like Tom Savage gives us the best chance to win. Im going to give him a week to prepare as a starter and see what he can do for us on Saturday night against the Bengals.Savage threw for 260 yards to help Houston rally from a 13-point deficit for a 21-20 win in his first regular-season action since 2014.He threw the ball very accurately, OBrien said. I thought he made the right reads. It wasnt perfect. There were some things he needs to improve on, but I thought he made some good throws, made some big throws, a couple on third down, a couple down the field.Some were caught, some werent caught, but I thought they were in the right spot.OBrien wouldnt say if he planned to start Savage for the rest of the season, saying the team is focused on the Bengals.Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston after signing a $72 million contract to join the Texans from Denver.He threw two interceptions before he was benched on Sunday to give him 16 interceptions and just 14 touchdowns this season.OBrien praised Osweiler for his work this season and how he handled the benching and talked about the difficulty of making the change.Its a hard thing to do as a coach, OBrien said. Thats what they pay me to do is to make decisions like this in the best interest of the team and thats what Im trying to do. I think that it will help our team.OBrien recounted his conversation with Osweiler when he gave him the news.ddddddddddddHe didnt say much, OBrien said. Im sure he didnt agree with the decision, but hes a pro. Thats what he is. Hes a pro football player and he understands that hes got to continue to compete, and he needs to be ready to play ... now hes in a similar situation that Tom (was) in. Hes one play away. Got to be ready to go.Savage was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft and appeared in just two games that season.In the first one he did not attempt a pass and in the second one he was 10 of 19 for 127 yards with an interception after taking over midgame when Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg on Dec 14.But Savage injured his knee in that game and missed the last two games before suffering a shoulder injury the next preseason and missing all of the 2015 season.Hes a very consistent person, OBrien said. Hes been the same guy as far as his personality and how he approaches his day to day workload since he arrived here.Hes a hardworking guy. Hes done a lot to work in the weight room to change his body. Hes worked to get in better shape over the years. Hes always trying to do something to prepare.When Savage starts on Saturday he will be the sixth quarterback that has started for Houston in the past two seasons after injuries and ineffective play forced the Texans to start four quarterbacks last season.The Texans believed they had found the answer to their longtime woes at the position when they snagged Osweiler from Denver.Now theyre left with the leagues most expensive backup and must figure out how theyll deal with him moving forward with three years left on his huge contract.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL . ' ' '