Red Sox 5, Tigers 7: Cooked

Aaron Cook's run of no-true outcomes effectiveness was bizarre, fun while it lasted, and now, sadly, over.

After getting smacked around by the Yankees in his last start, Aaron Cook came out strong Wednesday night against Detroit, and then fell dramatically to pieces. One run in the fourth was a warning shot, aided by a pickoff and defense, and when the Red Sox did not heed that warning (to be fair, nobody would after four inning of one-run ball), they were punished for it. Leadoff singles turned to late-inning bombs, as Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder went back-to-back, leaving the Sox in a 6-1 whole.

Give the offense credit, they did what they could to pull it back. Everyone but Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who was just awful, striking out twice and hampering a rally with a double play) had at least a decent night at the plate. Adrian Gonzalez actually drew a walk for the second night in a row after more than a month without and added in two hits besides. Pedro Ciriaco had another two-out RBI. Carl Crawford even put up a homer.

They would never reach that five mark, however, and with Andrew Miller surrendering a Fenway-only homer around Pesky's Pole, the Tigers gave themselves that extra little bump to really put the game away.

It's an unfortunate start to August, ending a four-game winning streak, but it could end up producing positives down the line. As fun as Aaron Cook's run was, the Sox are looking to get Franklin Morales back into the rotation after the acquisition of Craig Breslow (who recorded four outs in a successful Red Sox debut). If Josh Beckett is fit to make his next start, this makes the move all that more obvious for the team.