The Boston Red Sox were swept by the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Wednesday. The Twins earned a 6-4 victory and won the three-game series by a combined score of 15-7.
The loss drops the Red Sox to 21-26 at the bottom of the American League East division. That said, the Sox are still just 3.5 games out of first place.
Here’s a closer look at the series finale.
GAME IN A WORD
Power.
These teams combined for four home runs, with Dustin Pedroia hitting two of them for the Red Sox.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Red Sox had runners on first and second with two outs while trailing 6-4 in the eighth inning. David Ortiz was unable to drive in any runs and grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning. It was a missed opportunity for the Red Sox, who went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Mookie Betts collected Boston’s first hit with a single in the first inning. He also stole second base, but was stranded when Hanley Ramirez struck out. He finished 1-for-4.
— Red Sox right fielder Brock Holt was 2-for-3 with a single, double and a run scored.
— Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run homer in the second inning to open the scoring. Hughes missed his location and Pedroia took advantage of the middle-in pitch for his fourth career home run against the Twins starter. Pedroia hit another homer off of Hughes in the fifth inning to slice Minnesota’s lead to 5-4. He finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
— Boston catcher Blake Swihart was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
— Designated hitter David Ortiz, shortstop Xander Bogarts, first baseman Mike Napoli and left fielder Hanley Ramirez all were hitless for Boston.
— Twins right fielder Torii Hunter extended his hit streak to seven games. He went 1-for-4 with a two-RBI single.
— Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and an RBI.
— Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks and left fielder Eddie Rosario both hit home runs.
ON THE BUMP
— Sox starter Rick Porcello began the game with two scoreless innings, but he ran into trouble in the third when two walks and a single loaded the bases. Hunter drove in two runs with a single to tie the game 2-2. Mauer added another Twins run with an opposite field single, but Porcello got out of the inning with a double play on the next at-bat.
Porcello’s struggles with the long ball continued in the fourth inning when Aaron Hicks took him deep for his fourth homer of the season. The blast gave Minnesota a 5-2 lead. The Twins hit another homer in the sixth inning when Eddie Rosario went deep.
Porcello allowed seven hits, six earned runs, walked two and struck out two on 93 pitches in seven innings.
— Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
— Twins starter Phil Hughes wasn’t lights out, but he pitched well enough to earn his fourth victory of the season. He made two mistakes, both on missed locations inside that resulted in two-run homers by Pedroia.
Hughes departed after 6 2/3 innings. He gave up six hits, four earned runs, walked no one and struck out three.
— Minnesota reliever Brian Duensing pitched 1/3 of an inning of scoreless relief to end the seventh inning. Ryan Pressly, Aaron Thompsin and Michael Tonkin combined to pitch a scoreless eighth inning.
— Twins closer Glen Perkins picked up his 18th save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. He’s a perfect 18-for-18 in save opportunities this season.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Nice!
[tweet https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/603629570307260417 align=”center”]
UP NEXT
The Red Sox continue their road trip Thursday night against the Texas Rangers. Eduardo Rodriguez (Boston) and Nick Martinez (Texas) are the probable starting pitchers.
Thumbnail photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
