Thursday's American League Capsules

BOSTON (AP) - Max Scherzer pitched into the seventh inning, Delmon Young homered and the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Thursday night to avoid a four-game series sweep.

Scherzer (5-3) retired nine consecutive batters before Nick Punto led off the seventh with a walk, forcing the right-hander from the game. He allowed three runs and seven hits in his third consecutive victory, closing out a strong May.

Young hit a solo drive in the eighth to make it 5-3, then added a run-scoring single in the ninth.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his 10th homer for Boston, which was seeking its first four-game sweep against the Tigers since 2004. Josh Beckett (4-4) allowed four runs and a season-high 10 hits in seven innings.

The Red Sox opened May with eight losses in nine games to drop to 12-19 on the year. But they closed out the month with a 14-6 run to pull within three of the division lead.

Young and Quintin Berry each had three hits for Detroit, which finished with 14 overall. Berry also scored twice and stole two bases.

Editor's note: There was only one game on tap in the American League on Thursday.