Boston’s Manny Ramirez receives a warm greeting from the dugout after scoring on a triple and an error in the third inning yesterday that put the Red Sox ahead, 2-0.

The Journal / Bob Breidenbach

The Tigers tried to do the right thing.

It just didn’t happen — and as a result, the Red Sox had a gift run.

Manny Ramirez laced a long shot to the triangle, leading off the third. And once Ramirez started to kick it into gear, he raced around second and was on his way to third, trying for a triple.

Detroit center fielder Brandon Inge chased the ball down and fed a decent relay throw to second baseman Placido Polanco in shallow center. Polanco fired the ball to third baseman Miguel Cabrera as pitcher Kenny Rogers jogged behind third base to back up the throw.

The throw was a little off-line and short of Cabrera.

He knew his only chance to nail Ramirez was to make a sweeping short-hop pickup and tag in one motion. He failed to cleanly catch the ball.

Rogers, meanwhile, didn’t line himself up with the throw as well as he could have.

So when Cabrera inadvertently redirected the ball, it rolled past Rogers and into the Tigers’ dugout, giving Ramirez home plate and Boston’s second run of the game.

Polanco was charged with the error, even though it wasn’t that difficult a pickup under normal circumstances, without having to make the quick tag. That error was Polanco’s first since July 1, 2006, snapping his consecutive games errorless streak at 186, the longest for a second baseman in big-league history. He also had successfully handled a record 911 chances prior to yesterday’s error.

The previous records had been held by Luis Castillo — 143 games, 647 chances.

Ramirez’s run ultimately was ruled an earned run because Mike Lowell followed with a long flyout to center, which would have been a sacrifice fly.

Drew shines in right field

The fly ball was hit directly to center fielder Coco Crisp.

But right fielder J.D. Drew didn’t give up on the play, and it was a good thing he kept drifting toward center. Crisp lost the second-inning fly ball in the bright sunshine. Drew, not looking directly into the sun, as Crisp was, had a better angle at the ball.

Drew kept tracking the ball and easily made the catch as Crisp covered his head and ducked away, not knowing where the ball was.

Hungry Tigers can’t score runs

How desperate are the improbably run-starved Tigers for some offense?

Trailing, 3-0, in the fifth, and having been limited to one hit, Miguel Cabrera drew a leadoff four-pitch walk. On the next pitch, to Carlos Guillen, Detroit manager Jim Leyland called for a hit-and-run.

Guillen flied to left.

skrasner@projo.com