Red Sox Wrap: Fifth Inning Command Issues Doom Boston Staff In Loss

The Boston Red Sox dropped Game 1 of their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins on Monday, 4-2, at Target Field.

The Red Sox fall to 62-67, while the Twins improve to 66-61.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
There are very few cases where a Major League Baseball lineup will allow you to walk the bases loaded and get away with it. The Red Sox found out the hard way Monday night.

The fifth inning wasn’t kind to the Red Sox, who sent three pitchers to the mound in the frame. Brayan Bello and Matt Strahm combined to walk three Twins batters to load the bases. Boston manager Alex Cora had seen enough at that point, opting to bring in the ever reliable John Schreiber to get out of the jam — or so he thought.

Schreiber loaded the count full, choosing to throw a 3-2 slider to Minnesota batter Gio Urshela in an attempt to get the final out of the inning. Urshela, though, poked his bat out in front of the ball to double down the right-field line and drive in three runs.

The Twins flipped the script to take a 4-2 lead at that point forward to eventually grab the win.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Luis Arraez showed why he’s in the running to win the American League batting title, going 2-for-3 from the plate with a walk and RBI.

— Trevor Story had a solid night in his second game off the injured list. The 29-year-old finished his night 3-for-3 from the plate with a walk, run scored and stolen base.

— Zack Kelly had a big league debut to remember, striking out two batters in a scoreless inning of work.

WAGER WATCH
Believers in Brayan Bello likely weren’t happy with home-plate umpire Jerry Meals, who squeezed the Red Sox rookie on a pair of pitches to prevent him from reaching the over on his strikeout total. DraftKings Sportsbook set Bello’s total at 3.5 with +115 odds to go under. Those on the right side of Meals’ off night would have cashed $215 total on a $100 bet.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Twins will continue their three-game set on Tuesday night at Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, with NESN 360.