DETROIT: Maybe this was just what this American League Championship Series needed, a night off from its frazzled self. The first three games deepened wrinkles, grayed hairs and roiled stomachs. So for a night, at least, unclench your teeth because the Detroit Tigers unveiled a new-look lineup, kept their starting pitching about the same and finally offered something unheard of to this point: a blowout.

What the Tigers accomplished Wednesday night in their thorough 7-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 at Comerica Park in Detroit was multifaceted. Primarily, they evened the series at two games apiece, assuring it will return to Boston. But they also assured that the vestiges of two painful losses — a blown five-run lead in Game 2, a one-swing-provides-the-difference 1-0 decision in Game 3 — were erased. The series now can continue without questions about their ability to overcome such catastrophes.

“It’s definitely a momentum-booster for us,” starter and winner Doug Fister said.

Moreover, in finally providing a laugher in a series that had featured three one-run games, they extended their most important thread: The Tigers now have made a full trip through their postseason rotation, and the Red Sox — say it again, baseball’s best offensive team — have no answers for it.

So put aside, for a moment, the fact that Manager Jim Leyland dropped the flailing Austin Jackson from the leadoff spot to eighth — and got him to reach base four times. Forget that the juggling left Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera — veterans, all-stars, creatures of habit — in decidedly unfamiliar spots, leading off and hitting second, respectively.

“It kind of changes the mind-set of all the players in the lineup,” Hunter said. .” . . I think it kind of settled us down.”

But think about what was already settled: the rotation. Fister threw six efficient, effective innings. He wasn’t as powerful as Justin Verlander, as sharp as Max Scherzer, as unhittable as Anibal Sanchez. But he allowed just one run, and that didn’t come till the sixth, by which time the Tigers were up 7-0.

“It’s always the same approach for me,” Fister said. “It’s still a 0-0 ballgame no matter if it’s 7-0 or we’re down five.”

Which, given the Red Sox’ ability, makes sense. But throw Fister’s effort in with those of his harder-throwing, more ballyhooed teammates, and it fits nicely. In 27 innings, the Red Sox have three runs off Detroit’s rotation, good for a 1.00 ERA, and 42 strikeouts, more than half their outs. The Red Sox got to Fister for eight hits, but six were singles, and that lifted their average against the Tigers’ starters to .146.

Plus, Fister was aided by the Tigers’ sudden offensive outburst, a five-run fifth. But an examination of the frame shows how the damage could easily have been limited and a blowout might have been a ballgame.

Even after Boston right-hander Jake Peavy — who was charged with all seven runs — gave up a single and two walks to load the bases, he faced Jackson with one out. This was the same Jackson who had been simply horrendous offensively, 3 for 33 in the postseason with an astonishing 18 strikeouts. He got the news in a text message from hitting coach Lloyd McClendon on Wednesday morning while he was still in bed.

“Being in that leadoff spot, trying to get things going at the top, I think that me moving down it helped with just making me relax and be patient and just have fun, really,” Jackson said. “Not pressing so much up there.”

Still, this was the perfect person for Peavy to use as an escape hatch. Instead, he threw him four straight balls, an unforgivable walk that got the Tigers their first run.

Then came Boston’s next mistake — from an unlikely source. With the bases still plugged, Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias — acquired from Boston in July’s three-team trade that sent Peavy to the Red Sox — scorched a grounder right at Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, a double-play ball.

But Pedroia, for an instant, couldn’t find it at his feet. He tracked it down in time to get the out at second, but Iglesias beat the relay. A run scored, and — more importantly — the inning was alive. Hunter stroked a two-run double, Cabrera scored him with a single and Fister had a 5-0 lead.

“We probably contributed to the building of the inning,” Boston Manager John Farrell said.

And that meant, for one night, breathing came easier. Game 5 is Thursday night, and Jon Lester and Sanchez — who authored Detroit’s 1-0 victory in Game 1 — will oppose each other again. The thrills can be saved for another day.