DETROIT -- Ordinarily, a matchup of Chris Sale and Justin Verlander would be extraordinary enough for the anticipation to begin building more than 24 hours before either ace unleashed a pitch.

Take your hype elsewhere, John Farrell essentially said Sunday morning.

Not with 20 percent of the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day roster, including the Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, dealing with a flu virus so pervasive it might as well be the plague. Two other players have been away from the team because of deaths in their families. Instead of taking batting practice, the center fielder was at a local hospital getting an MRI on his balky right knee. And, oh yeah, the Red Sox had lost back-to-back games against the Detroit Tigers.

So, if you wanted Farrell to rhapsodize about a Sale-Verlander duel in Monday's series finale, no, the manager wasn't in the mood.

"Tomorrow's another day. That’s kind of the only way you look at it," Farrell said. "It would be good to get today’s [game] under our belt, and have Rick Porcello go out and pitch like he’s capable. Tomorrow will get here, but we need to get a big hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position is the way I look at it."

Consider it done.

Fill-in shortstop Marco Hernandez delivered a two-out RBI single in the second inning, the Red Sox scored four runs in the eighth, and although Porcello got knocked around for 11 hits in six innings, reliever Matt Barnes returned from a three-day bereavement leave to pitch two scoreless innings in a come-from-behind, 7-5 victory.

It seems silly to regard the fifth game of the season as a "must-win" situation, so let's say it was just what the doctor ordered for the patchwork Red Sox after days of calling only for flu tests.

If you look really closely, you can almost see the roster becoming whole again, too. Right fielder Mookie Betts was back in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup after missing three games with flu-like symptoms. Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts is set to rejoin the team Monday after burying his grandmother in Aruba. Designated hitter Hanley Ramirez will be waiting at Fenway Park, his fever likely to have broken, when the Red Sox get back. And if it's any consolation after a less-than-ideal diagnosis, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. says he's confident he can play through a sprained ligament in his right knee.

So, if Sale can only outpitch Verlander, the Red Sox can somehow escape Motown with a split of the four-game series and a rosier outlook on life than when they arrived.

"We’ve been battling these past three days," Porcello said after allowing four runs and surviving a scare in which he appeared to tweak his hamstring while running to back up third base. "We've got half our squad here, practically. We’ve been in every ballgame and we’re going to keep fighting. So proud of the way the guys are playing and working through."

After not playing for five days, Betts said he "felt like everything was kind of delayed and timing wasn't there" at the plate. But he still drew a leadoff walk to start the rally in the eighth inning after also walking in the first.

"His presence in the lineup, he took some good swings, walked a couple of times, got on base, was able to score a run," Farrell said. "Just to get him back in the flow is certainly a positive."

Likewise, Barnes' presence brought a steady hand to a bullpen in flux. With Tyler Thornburg sidelined by a spring-training shoulder injury, Barnes has slightly more experience in a setup role than Heath Hembree or Joe Kelly. He was in New York for his grandmother's funeral when Hembree, lefty Robby Scott and Kelly blew a lead in the eighth inning Friday. But after playing catch with his cousin Saturday to keep his arm loose, Barnes said he was "ready for anything," even a two-inning appearance before closer Craig Kimbrel white-knuckled his way through a ninth inning in which he walked the first two batters, gave up a run and brought the go-ahead run to the plate.

"I'll be honest, it was one of the last things that I wanted to do was to get on a plane and go flying after 3½ hours at my grandma’s funeral [Saturday] morning, but it's great to be back with the team," Barnes said. "This is kind of one of those things, when you’re going through something that's that difficult, it’s almost nice to get back to a normal schedule as much as you can."

Everything felt a little more normal for the Red Sox on Sunday evening, enough that they could finally look forward to the Sale-Verlander showdown.

"We had already lost two, especially some tough losses where you probably could have won a couple of those, and trying to pick up one because you know Verlander is going tomorrow," Betts said. "We have a guy who can match up with him, but he’s still Verlander and he’s tough to score some runs off of."

Ditto for Sale. May the better ace win in a marquee matchup even Farrell might now be better able to enjoy.