DETROIT (Ticker) -- Not everything Boston Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette touches turns to gold.

Recently signed righthander Steve Ontiveros was torched in his first start since 1995, retiring just three batters as the Detroit Tigers salvaged the finale of a day-night doubleheader with a 12-2 rout of the Red Sox.

Ontiveros (0-1) earned an All-Star berth in 1995 while going 9-6 with the Oakland Athletics. But he underwent elbow surgery after that season and failed to return to the major leagues with five different clubs before retiring last season while in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization.

This year, he signed with the Colorado Rockies and was 4-1 in eight starts for Class AAA Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League. With a pair of crucial doubleheaders looming next week, Duquette tried to capture lightning in a bottle and signed the 39-year-old.

But after giving up a two-run homer to Juan Gonzalez in the first inning, Ontiveros allowed the first four batters to reach in the second and all of them came around to score as the Tigers quickly turned the game into a blowout.

"Obviously, I couldn't locate my pitches," Ontiveros said. "I didn't execute them. (It was) very frustrating. I just seemed to pull off everything. ... Unfortunately, I put the team in a huge hole. No excuses. There's absolutely no reason for me to pitch the way I did."

"He just got hit," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams added. "(Hideo) Nomo pitched a very good game. He's a very good pitcher, he's got a good fastball and a very good split (finger)."

Dante Bichette appreciated the situation Ontiveros was in.

"That's a tough spot," Bichette said. "He's a tough competitor, he bounced back from surgeries. I felt for him because he just didn't have it today. ... Not only is it a tough situation, you come over here, you're in a pennant race."

Nomo (7-11) was the beneficiary of the early support and allowed two runs -- both on homers -- and eight hits over eight innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

"Even though I gave up a couple of home runs, we got so much," Nomo said through an interpreter. "I just tried to throw strikes."

Boston, which captured the opener, 8-5, moved within 1 1/2 games of Cleveland for the American League wild card. But the Red Sox fell 7 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Nomo struck out three around a pair of singles in the opening inning and Detroit got two in the bottom half when Gonzalez hit his 22nd homer. The Tigers added seven runs in the second as the first seven batters reached.

Brad Ausmus walked and stole second. Juan Encarnacion doubled in a run and stole third. Shane Halter walked before Billy McMillon tripled for a 5-0 lead. Paxton Crawford took over for Ontiveros and immediately hit Damion Easley with a pitch.

Bobby Higginson singled to right, scoring McMillon, and Gonzalez made it 7-0 with a base hit to left. Dean Palmer struck out, but Deivi Cruz and Ausmus followed with RBI singles for a 9-0 bulge.

"Well, that's better, obviously," Tigers manager Phil Garner said. "I liked that one. All the hits we haven't been getting, we got in one inning. It was good to put runs on the board early and have some room to breathe."

Brian Daubach hit his 21st homer, a solo shot with one out in the third, to get Boston on the scoreboard.

A sacrifice fly by Easley in the fifth put the Tigers on top, 10-1, before Israel Alcantara homered with one out in the eighth for Boston.

Detroit capped the scoring with two runs in the eighth.