Red Sox rookie pitchers debut in same game

Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins pitch well in Tuesday's loss to Tigers.

BOSTON -- Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins made a bit of Red Sox history Tuesday night.

Not since Frankie Rodriguez and Jeff Pierce in 1995 had two Boston rookie pitchers made their big league debuts in the same game. Hernandez and Lakins combined to allow just one earned run over the final five innings of a 4-2 loss to the Tigers, the second half of a day-night doubleheader sweep.

“That was really good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It was fun to watch. You can see the stuff from both of them.”

Hernandez served as the 26th man on the roster as allowed by Major League Baseball. He was returned to Double-A Portland and will continue to develop as a starter. The 22-year-old is the top-ranked pitching prospect in Boston’s system and broke in with four strikeouts in 2-1/3 innings.

“I found out (Monday) that I was coming over,” Hernandez said through Red Sox coach Ramon Vazquez. “I was pretty excited.”

Hernandez issued a lone walk to fellow Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera, who is almost certainly bound for the Hall of Fame at the close of his decorated career. Cabrera made his debut in June 2003 – Hernandez turned 7 later that year.

“He’s facing somebody who back home is a legend,” Cora said. “You did see he wanted to put him away, and he didn’t. Besides that he made some good pitches.”

The 24-year-old Lakins got the call after batting practice wrapped up at Triple-A Pawtucket. He made a quick drive to Boston with his wife, Alexis, who was equally shocked. Lakins spared a minute on the trip to reach his father, Travis Sr., at their Ohio home.

“My dad, I talked to him for about 20 seconds,” Lakins said. “I don’t think he wanted me to hear him cry. I talked to him and my mom (Shawna) was just so emotional. It was just an emotional experience for all of us.”

Lakins was touched for a Detroit insurance run in the ninth on a John Hicks double to deep center. The right-hander threw 23 of his 34 pitches for strikes over 2-2/3 innings.

“He did an outstanding job,” Cora said. “You saw the fastball up, the cutter and the breaking ball. He slowed the game down, which was good.”

A silver lining: If your glass is of the half-full variety, the number of men left on base by the Red Sox in two of their last three games could be a sign of good things to come.

Cora is such a person, so stranding a season-high 13 against the Tigers in the nightcap carries with it a silver lining. Boston left six men or less on base in eight straight games until stranding nine in Sunday’s 4-3, 11-inning victory to sweep the weekend series at Tampa. The Red Sox are generating more frequent offensive opportunities – capitalizing is the next step.

“We started controlling the strike zone,” Cora said. “We did it in Tampa. We did it (Tuesday) in the second game. Now it’s just a matter of getting that hit with runners in scoring position.”

Andrew Benintendi singled three times and Mookie Betts drew a hat trick of walks out of the lineup’s top two spots. Mitch Moreland, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts picked a poor time to go a combined 3 for 13 behind them. Only Bogaerts was able to manage an RBI on a soft single to left center in the seventh.

Injury update: The Red Sox had a full quartet of rehabbers on the field four hours before Wednesday’s 7:10 p.m. first pitch.

Dustin Pedroia (left knee) and Eduardo Nunez (back strain) both took batting practice against a pitching machine. Brock Holt (right eye) fielded ground balls at shortstop and hit inside. Brian Johnson (left elbow) did some work in the outfield one day after playing catch from a distance of 60 feet.

Nunez and Holt appear closest to a return. Both are expected to go on minor league assignments, with Holt potentially set to join an affiliate this weekend barring a setback. He was returned from an initial stint with the PawSox last week after just one game.