Editor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.
The Red Sox looked to be well on their way Saturday to reversing their recent string of misfortune. Minnesota's final batter, Joe Mauer, was down to his last strike against Alfredo Aceves.
But the Twins somehow managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when Mauer deposited Aceves' pitch into the Monster seats, sending Boston to its fourth straight loss and wasting Pedro Ciriaco's eighth-inning go-ahead home run — the first homer of his career.
Ciriaco and some of his teammates have continued to hit well despite the disappointing overall results.
Adrian Gonzalez is the hottest Red Sox hitter at the moment and that has seemingly been the case since the All-Star break. He picked up yet another hit Saturday, giving him one in eight of the last nine games. In that time span, he's batting .424 with a home run, five RBIs and six runs scored.
Ciriaco hasn't been hitting too shabbily, either. Although the aformentioned milestone home run was undoubtedly a recent highlight, the shortstop is hitting .278 with four RBIs over the last week.
The Twins' hottest hitter, meanwhile, is a resurgent Justin Morneau. The first baseman is 8-for-12 with a .917 slugging percentage in his last three games, with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
Here are the Red Sox and Twins temperatures for Sunday, Aug. 5.
Red Sox
Adrian Gonzalez 82
Pedro Ciriaco 76
Cody Ross 75
Carl Crawford 70
Ryan Lavarnway 66
Mike Aviles 66
Nick Punto 64
Dustin Pedroia 62
Jarrod Saltalamacchia 61
Ryan Kalish 61
Jacoby Ellsbury 60
Will Middlebrooks 57
Kelly Shoppach 53
Twins
Justin Morneau 96
Jamey Carroll 87
Ben Revere 85
Darin Mastroianni 76
Joe Mauer 74
Alexi Casilla 69
Drew Butera 66
Ryan Doumit 65
Brian Dozier 64
Denard Span 64
Danny Valencia 61
Josh Willingham 52
