He tripled in the eighth inning, scoring the Tigers' second run after they had broken a scoreless tie the inning before. It turned out to be a very important run. Detroit closer Jose Valverde could not hold the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Then Jackson drove in the winning run with his third hit in the bottom on the ninth. But Jackson's two outs were as telling as his hits. He took Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, one of the American League's best starters, deep into the counts. Then he put the ball in play rather than striking out. Jackson has ditched the leg kick he had during his hitting stride. He started stroking the ball better late in spring training. It carried over to Opening Day. "I was never able to quite get my timing down with the leg kick," Jackson said. "There is less margin for error now." Jackson is only 25 years old, which makes him a work in progress. He has been a superior defensive center fielder since the moment he reached the major leagues, and a Gold Glove Award could very well be a part of his future. But the Tigers need more than Gary Pettis, a Gold Glove Award winner, who played for them in the late 1980s. When Pettis played for the Angels, before he joined the Tigers, Sparky Anderson raved that he was the best-fielding center fielder he had ever seen. "Even better than Willie Mays?" I asked Sparky.