Tigers 8, Red Sox 6: Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson and Nick Castellanos recorded three hits apiece as Detroit jumped out early and held off visiting Boston.

Rookie Eugenio Suarez homered and scored twice in his second major-league game while Ian Kinsler tripled in a run as the Tigers clinched the three-game series. Max Scherzer (7-2) struck out nine and was charged with four runs on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings to snap a three-start winless streak while Joe Nathan surrendered two runs in the ninth inning before stranding the tying run on first.

Jon Lester (6-7) started for the Red Sox and was knocked around for five runs and 12 hits without recording a strikeout in 4 1/3 frames. Dustin Pedroia homered among three hits and David Ortiz drove in two runs for Boston, which has dropped five straight.

Lester retired the first two batters he faced before Cabrera doubled to left-center and Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter each followed with RBI hits to give Detroit a quick 2-0 lead. Rajai Davis singled in a run in the second and Castellanos drove a first-pitch fastball out in the third to make it a four-run cushion.

Pedroia got the Red Sox on the board with a solo blast in the fourth but Suarez battled through a seven-pitch at-bat and drove a cutter from Lester out to left to get that run back in the bottom of the frame. Boston cut it to 5-3 on Stephen Drew’s RBI single in the sixth but Kinsler tripled to center to drive in a run in the sixth and Cabrera followed with an RBI single to give the Tigers enough room to survive a rough ninth from Nathan.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston 1B Mike Napoli (finger, calf) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. … Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz (knee) had a scheduled simulated game pushed back from Saturday to Sunday due to field availability. … Tigers C Alex Avila, who was hit on the backswing by Ortiz in Friday’s series opener, was held out of the lineup as a precaution.