Red Sox Wrap: Win Over Twins Gives Boston Eighth Straight Victory

The Red Sox are winners again.

Boston on Wednesday earned a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota for its eighth win in a row. The game, a seven-inning affair, served as the opener of a day-night doubleheader at Target Field.

The Red Sox got strong contributions on the mound, at the bat and on defense. Nathan Eovaldi turned in another solid start, Christian Arroyo drove home the eventual game-winning run and Alex Verdugo ended the game with a diving catch to prevent the tying run from scoring.

The win was Alex Cora’s 200th as a big league manager.

Boston improved to 8-3 with the victory while the Twins dropped to 5-6 with the loss.

Here’s how it all went down:

GAME IN A WORD
Close.

Both teams had plenty of opportunities to put runs on the board and break the game open. Instead, the score stayed close throughout.

ON THE BUMP
— Eovaldi cruised through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the third.

The hard-throwing righty gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning before forcing Luis Arraez to line out. After throwing a wild pitch, allowing both runners to move up, Eovaldi gave up a two-run single to Jorge Polanco.

He then hit Nelson Cruz before striking out Max Kepler and inducing an inning-ending groundout. Eovaldi settled in and held the Twins scoreless over the next two innings. He also got some help from his defense.

Ultimately, Eovaldi surrendered two runs on five hits while striking out three over five innings. He did not walk a batter, but did hit one. Eovaldi picked up the win and now is 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts.

— Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a high-leverage inning for the second straight day, and again pitched a scoreless frame. This time, he did not allow a baserunner. The lefty now has a 1.59 ERA in six appearances.

— Matt Barnes issued a leadoff walk in the ninth but retired the next three batters to earn his second save of the season. The final out came courtesy of Verdugo, who robbed Arraez with a runner on second to save the game.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Boston got the scoring started in the second when Hunter Renfroe, a day removed from his first home run with the Red Sox, drove home Marwin Gonzalez on an RBI single.

Following a Franchy Cordero single, Kevin Plawecki dropped down a bunt, which Twins starter Kenta Maeda threw into left field, allowing Renfroe to score. Arroyo then drove home Cordero on a sharp single to left field.

— Boston had a man in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings but failed to score any runs. Maeda did a good job limiting damage, as did reliever Cody Stashak, who struck out the final two batters of the fifth with a runner on third.

— The Red Sox’s best opportunity came in the seventh, when Xander Bogaerts doubled to leadoff the inning and moved to third on a Rafael Devers single. Renfroe worked a one-out walk to load the bases, but Twins reliever Brandon Waddell retired the next two batters to escape the inning unscathed.

— Overall Boston left 12 men on base, including six in scoring position. The Red Sox finished with 11 hits.

— Arroyo, Bogaerts and Verdugo all finished 2-for-4.

— J.D. Martinez was the only member of the lineup without a hit.

TWEET OF THE GAME
Top pitching prospect Bryan Mata sent this tweet after undergoing Tommy John surgery:

UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Twins will play the second game of their doubleheader late Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for approximately 5:25 p.m. ET.