DETROIT -- Justyn-Henry Malloy waited all night for one swing, and then made it count.

Malloy ripped a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

The Tigers (29-15) swept the Red Sox (22-23) in the three-game series. After winning the opener by a 12-run margin, the Tigers followed with back-to-back walk-off wins and head into an off-day with the best record in baseball.

Andy Ibáñez led off the ninth with a walk against Red Sox lefty Aroldis Chapman. He stole second base and dashed to third on a throwing error. After Trey Sweeney struck out and Javier Báez popped out, Malloy lined a single over second base to secure the win.

“It’s super cool because you come into the ballpark ready to win,” Malloy said after the game. “There’s a feeling of momentum and wanting to contribute. You know you have a role. The amount of buy-in to those roles creates a really strong, selfless atmosphere. Guys are ready to jump in and ask, ‘How can I impact the game? How can I help the guys out? Can I move a guy over? Can I run the bases so my teammate’s at-bat gets easier?’ It’s just a selfless way of playing the game, and I think our group is doing an incredible job of that.”

The walk-off was only possible thanks to a gutsy performance by Tigers reliever Will Vest in the top of the ninth. The Red Sox put two runners on, but Vest -- who threw 36 pitches on Tuesday night -- struck out Rafael Devers and got Alex Bregman to ground out.

“Vestie came in and was electric. Skubal does his thing all the time. And it doesn’t happen without Andy putting together a really good at-bat, getting on, and making things happen on the bases,” Malloy said. “So it’s more a credit to those guys. I was just in a good position to try and cash it in.”

Tigers left fielder Riley Greene had three hits, including his 10th homer of the year and the 50th of his career, which knocked Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins out of the game in the sixth.

Tigers starter Tarik Skubal struck out 11 but issued his first walk since April 20 in what turned into an ugly seventh inning. Skubal was lifted after allowing a pair of singles. Lefty Tyler Holton failed to retire a batter, allowing both inherited runners to score on RBI singles. Then Tommy Kahnle escaped the bases-loaded jam in a tie game by getting pinch-hitter Wilyer Abreu to ground into a double play.

“I was running out of bullets there at the end. I gave up a single, a walk, and then another single. It’s just baseball sometimes,” said Skubal, who was charged with five earned runs, the most he’s allowed since last August.

“Not every day is going to be perfect. Even the stat line doesn’t really show how I performed today. That’s kind of what happens when you chase results. You guys like results. I like process. It was a good day, all in all.”

Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter was robbed of a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning. Abreu leaped at the right-field wall in an attempt to make the catch. The ball deflected off his glove, back onto the field, and directly into the glove of center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.

“I hate that we were on the other end of it, but that was pretty fun to watch, honestly,” Carpenter said. “I was hoping somehow that hit something over the fence, but it was pretty clear it didn’t. It was a heck of a play.”

The Red Sox scored against Skubal in the first inning, just the second time that’s happened this season. Devers and Bregman singled, and Devers scored on Rob Refsnyder’s sacrifice fly.

Bregman, who has been serenaded with boos all week for spurning the Tigers this winter, led off the fourth inning with a solo homer against Skubal. It was Bregman’s 11th of the season and second of the series.

“As for booing Bregman, I kind of wish they’d stop,” Skubal said. “He seemed like he was feeding off it. But hey, that’s our fan base. I love when they show up.

“That’s who they are. Our fans are relentless, and so is the club.”

Dobbins, making his fifth career start, pitched well before tiring in the sixth.

Greene led off the second with a double and scored on Sweeney’s RBI single, using a swim move to avoid the tag at the plate.

In the fourth, Colt Keith led off with a double and scored to tie the game at 2.

BOX SCORE

Up next: The Tigers are off on Thursday. They open a three-game series at Toronto against the Blue Jays on Friday at 7:07 p.m.

Right-hander Jack Flaherty (1-5, 4.61 ERA) will pitch for the Tigers.

Over his last five starts, Flaherty is 0-5 with a 6.66 ERA, including a 10-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on May 10.