Tigers starter Armando Galarraga matched Contreras pitch-for-pitch until the Tigers bats woke up. The Tigers scored two runs in the fifth inning, three in the sixth, a single run in the seventh and three more in the eighth to gain a split of the series that was cut short by Tuesday's rainout.

The Tigers (5-4) will take the momentum from Wednesday's win into their first West Coast trip of the season Friday night in Seattle. They also will play three games in Anaheim and three in Kansas City.

Galarraga, worked 6 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, two walks and striking out five to improve to 2-0.

"My slider seemed to get better and better," Galarraga said. "The Sox hitters are very aggressive, and sometimes you have to throw backwards when you're behind in the count throwing breaking balls. Everything felt good to me."

"Galarraga was tremendous," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Everyone did a good job."

The Tigers offense came to life in the fifth inning when Placido Polanco hit a ball to deep left-center that one hopped the wall for a two-out double, scoring Josh Anderson, who had walked, and Granderson, who reached on a fielder's choice.

Polanco tied a career-high with extra-base hits in four straight games. He had three RBIs as did Miguel Cabrera, who hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning, and had two RBI singles.

Anderson, who went

2-for-2, was on base four times including two walks.