DETROIT — The Boston Red Sox were unable to hit in the clutch last night at Comerica Park.

And that cost them dearly in a 3-2, 13-inning loss. Ivan Rodriguez’s two-out RBI single to right-center off Jonathan Papelbon delivered Gary Sheffield from second base with the winning run, ending the game after 4 hours and 28 minutes.

Papelbon drilled Sheffield with his first pitch of the night, and Sheffield swiped second base with one out. After Papelbon fanned Carlos Guillen, Rodriguez laced a shot to right-center that hustling, diving center fielder Coco Crisp just wasn’t able to snag.

Crisp covered an awful lot of ground, but even his all-out effort wasn’t enough, as the ball fell beyond his outstretched glove, permitting Sheffield to walk home from second with the game-winning run.

There were threats galore from each team in extra innings.

In the 12th, Boston received a leadoff single by Alex Cora, a bunt, and then, after a strikeout, David Ortiz was walked intentionally for the third time and Manny Ramirez also walked, loading the bases with two outs.

But when Detroit manager Jim Leyland brought in left-hander Bobby Seay to face struggling J.D. Drew (1-for-5), Boston manager Terry Francona countered with Kevin Youkilis, who was held out of the starting lineup for the fifth time in six games because of a strained left quadriceps.

Youkilis flied to right, dropping the Red Sox to 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position for the game — 0-for-11 after Ortiz’s two-run homer in the first.

The Tigers were similarly wasteful in the 11th when they filled the bases against Mike Timlin after two were out on a walk, a single and a walk. But Timlin escaped by retiring Craig Monroe on a first-pitch foul popup that rookie first baseman Jeff Bailey managed to snag with a reach after he and catcher Jason Varitek seemingly messed up the communication near the Sox’ dugout.

Each team squandered a golden chance to score in the 10th inning, which pushed the game into the 11th.

The Tigers filled the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th after the Sox had wasted a leadoff double and a runner at third with one out.

Detroit’s 10th-inning uprising began with a single through the shortstop hole by Rodriguez against Hideki Okajima, who had entered the game in the eighth, notching the final out on one pitch in that inning. It continued with a single to left by Marcus Thames, putting runners at first and second with none out.

A sacrifice bunt by Monroe moved the runners up, and an intentional walk to Brandon Inge loaded the bases with one out. Okajima fell behind Curtis Granderson, 3-and-1, on some close pitches. He got the benefit of the call on the next one, making it a full count, and then Granderson chopped one to first baseman Eric Hinske, who threw home for the force. Okajima squirmed out of the inning by retiring Omar Infante on a fly ball to center.

The Sox’ glittering opportunity blossomed when Crisp led off with a double to left-center against Detroit closer Todd Jones. Julio Lugo, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth, fouled off two sacrifice bunt tries, but did move Crisp to third with one out on a groundout to short.

The Tigers quickly issued their second intentional pass of the night to Ortiz, whose two-run homer in the first inning had accounted for the Sox’ only runs to that point.

But one pitch later, the threat was gone, snuffed out on Ramirez’s first-pitch, double-play grounder to third that sent the game into the bottom of the 10th still tied at 2-2.

Regardless of the outcome, one thing was certain last night.

Ortiz obviously benefited from having had Friday night off. The Sox’ designated hitter, who clearly was pressing on the recently concluded homestand, when his offensive struggles left his feeling he was letting the team down, looked relaxed in the clubhouse the last two days.

More importantly, he looked more like his fearsome self in the batter’s box, producing a two-run homer with a first-inning swing, coming on the heels of Dustin Pedroia’s triple. And, after walking in the third, Ortiz added a well-crunched double into the right-field corner.

Jeremy Bonderman, one of Detroit’s right-handed aces, tried to fool Ortiz with a 2-and-1 changeup. And, in truth, he did have Ortiz leaning a bit on his front foot.

But Ortiz was able to stay back long enough so that he was able to generate enough power with a one-handed swing and follow-through, floating a homer into the right-field seats. It was Ortiz’s 14th homer of the year, but first in 13 games, snapping a homerless drought of 54 at-bats.

Ortiz’s homer was all the support that rookie left-hander Kason Gabbard received in his solid 6 1/3-inning stint.

He left with the game tied at 2-2, a runner at first and one out. Manny Delcarmen stranded the baserunner so Gabbard wound up with a no-decision.

Gabbard very easily could have been in position for a victory when he was lifted, but he issued back-to-back walks leading off the fifth — his only two walks of the game — and they came back to haunt him.

It was slumping Monroe (.133 in his last 20 games) who inflicted the damage, lining a two-out double over the head of left fielder Ramirez, cashing in the two walks and tying the game at 2-2.

That double was one of only three hits surrendered by Gabbard, who also received some sterling defense from Pedroia at second base and shortstop Cora. Pedroia robbed Placido Polanco of a hit with a diving stop in the fourth and Cora’s leaping, lunging catch deprived Sheffield of a hit in the sixth. First baseman Hinske’s catch of a foul popup while draped over the tarp helped out, too, although only momentarily because it preceded Monroe’s double.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, weren’t exactly mashing the ball against Bonderman, either. Bonderman, who was 9-1 with a 3.58 ERA entering the game, limited Boston to seven hits.

Bonderman was toughest when he had to be — when the Sox pushed a runner to third with one out in the sixth and when they a first-and-second, one-out chance and then a first-and-third, two-out opportunity in the eighth. Each time, Bonderman, who fanned nine in his eight-inning, 114-pitch effort, was able to strand the runners.

skrasner@projo.com