Final 9th, Red Sox 7-6: A few days ago, Bobby Valentine joked that he thought Alfredo Aceves was trying to kill him.
Well, he made it interesting in the ninth inning when he loaded up the bases. But he managed to escape by striking out Denard Span.
That half inning really embodied the bullpen's entire game. It started well, suffered a few bumps and eventually settled down.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 7-6: Jared Burton did what was asked, pitching a spotless frame to give the Twins a chance to complete the comeback.
It comes down to this inning for Minnesota's hitters, but this part of the order did damage in the sixth inning.
Bottom 8th, Red Sox 7-6: Justin Morneau appeared to almost take Franklin Morales deep in that one, but the ball was a can of corn for Marlon Byrd.
At Fenway last week, Bobby Valentine said he doesn't view Morales as a situational reliever in terms of righties or lefties.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 7-6: Twins pitcher Glen Perkins was a machine in that inning, striking out Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis.
Yes, that was pretty impressive. His ability to mix the four-seam and two-seam fastballs was critical to his performance in that inning. But that was stunning.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 7-6: Cody Ross exited the game with apparent left knee soreness.
Vicente Padilla also took the baton from Matt Albers in the bullpen and retired Minnesota's side. It provided a much needed lift to the reeling bullpen.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 7-6: Ryan Sweeney got a hit in the column, becoming the eighth Red Sox batter to get a hit.
Now, every starter except David Ortiz has registered a hit in the contest against the Twins. It's a surprise, considering Ortiz' unprecendent sizzling streak in April.
Bottom 6th, Red Sox 7-6: And the bullpen's woes continue. When Atchison allowed runs, the Red Sox subbed in Justin Thomas.
He allowed an RBI single to Trevor Plouffe to cut it down to a one-run game. It's not exactly the collapse against the Yankees, but it could be headed there if things don't turn around quickly.
10:31 p.m.: Clay Buchholz gave up two singles, a double and a walk in successive at-bats. At that point, the Red Sox yanked the pitcher for Scott Atchison.
But with the bases loaded, Atchison — who's been pretty stable — allowed Joe Mauer to belt a two-run single.
Even though Buchholz is in line for the win, he showed there's more work to be done.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 7-1: For all you hockey heads, the Bruins are in overtime. Cody Ross is a pretty big hockey fan and would wear some Bruins paraphanelia after games.
But in that inning, Ross struck out swinging. By the way, who would have imagined that Ross and Aviles would be leading the team in homers right now?
Bottom 5th, Red Sox 7-1: For the first time all game, Clay Buchholz got to savor a 1-2-3 inning. And he did so with nine pitches.
Although he's not where he'd like to be, you have to give him credit for battling past some early bumps.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 7-1: Anthony Swarzak came into replace Liam Hendricks, who threw 87 pitches and allowed seven runs.
After this one, the 23-year-old Twins pitcher remains in pursuit of his first career victory in Major League Baseball.
9:54 p.m.: Dustin Pedroia tripled to start off the inning and Adrian Gonzalez drove him in for a run on the ensuing at-bat.
After three at-bats, Pedroia has a single, double and triple. So let the watch for the cycle begin.
Bottom 4th, Red Sox 6-1: Alexi Casilla and Denard Span capitalized off Buchholz this time around, collecting singles.
But Buchholz escaped with no issues after leaning on his offspeed stuff. The Twins, meanwhile, are just stranding runners on base and are having issues offensively.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 6-1: And now the moment you've all been waiting for — Marlon Byrd now has more hits for the Red Sox in three games than he did for the Cubs (43 at-bats).
He told the reporters in Minnesota that he's been working on his timing with hitting coach Dave Magadan. It's certainly obvious just about now.
Bottom 3rd, Red Sox 6-1: Buchholz looked better in that frame, getting Trevor Plouffe to strike out swinging.
But hitters are still making contact with his pitches. Justin Morneau and Chris Parmalee both sliced singles off Buchholz.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 6-1: Now, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is getting it going. He endured a horrible homestand — with the exception of a homer — but he's been rolling on the road.
His two-out single was another byproduct of that. His base running, however, is a different story, considering he tried to stretch a single and was tagged out.
Bottom 2nd, Red Sox 4-1: The struggles continues for Buchholz. After allowing a double to Ben Revere, Alexi Casilla drove him in with an RBI single.
He hasn't thrown many changeups in this one so far. That pitch was supposed to be his bread and butter to stifle batters.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 4-0: Mike Aviles is just feasting on pitchers right now, getting his sixth hit of the series — this one a three-run bomb.
Also, David Ortiz shed roughly 20 pounds over the offseason and it helped in this inning as he hustled from second base to home on Cody Ross' single.
He was also aided by Ben Revere's bobble in the outfield. If the outfielder fired on time, it could've made for an interesting play at the plate.
Bottom 1st, 0-0: There wasn't any damage done, but Clay Buchholz didn't get off to the ideal start once again.
He walked two batters and seemed to have some trouble locating his fastball. Maybe he'll fix it up later in the outing, but he hasn't quite looked like the pitcher he's capable of being.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Adrian Gonzalez really worked Hendricks there with an at-bat that totaled 15 pitches. It'll drive that pitch count pretty high for the Twins pitcher.
With a double in the inning, Dustin Pedroia extended his little hit streak to five games. It was his fifth double of the season.
6:10 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
Red Sox
Mike Aviles, SS
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Jarrod Saltalmacchia, C
Cody Ross, LF
Marlon Byrd, CF
Clay Buchholz, P
Twins
Denard Span, CF
Jamey Carroll, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, DH
Chris Parmelee, 1B
Trevor Plouffe, RF
Sean Burroughs, 3B
Ben Revere, LF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Liam Hendricks, P
8 a.m. ET: With an offensive onslaught against the Twins (5-13), the Red Sox (6-10) have won back-to-back games and are riding high. An easier schedule has also helped the team after Boston sputtered to a slow start against tough foes in the Yankees and the Rangers.
Clay Buchholz, who is 1-1 on the year, will be looking to finally get on track as he toes the rubber for Boston. In each of his three starts this season, he's yielded at least five runs, which has raised his ERA to 9.00. He also gave up five home runs to the Yankees in his last appearance. He'll be up against Minnesota pitcher Liam Hendricks, who is 0-0, has a 3.86 ERA and remains in search of his first career major league victory.
For more analysis, follow NESN.com's blog. Be sure to tune into NESN Plus for the game and first pitch, which is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
