Red Sox Notes: Boston Inflicts Total Offensive Turnaround In Doubleheader

The Boston Red Sox had the ultimate offensive turnaround just in time for Sunday's doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins.

Boston erupted for 17 runs across a pair of wins, ending the day with a 9-3 win over the declining American League Central playoff hopeful. The Red Sox struck out 20 times and left 17 runners on base in a frustrating loss on Friday in the series opener. Sunday featured a timely turnaround -- Boston's playoff odds are extremely low -- to end the short homestand on a high note.

"We did a good job today," Alex Cora told reporters, per NESN's postgame coverage. "The whole day, it was good. ... Overall, a good one (and) pitched extremely well."

Romy Gonzalez drove in four of the nine runs in the nightcap, getting the scoring started for the Red Sox with a go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning. That allowed Boston to open the floodgates and further tarnish hope for Minnesota.

"Any time we get to put up runs like that, it's impressive," Gonzalez told NESN's Jahmai Webster postgame. "This is what we're capable of. We just gotta keep it rolling here for the last six (games)."

The Red Sox are on the verge of a seventh straight season as a top-10 offense in baseball. Days like Sunday show just how dangerous the lineup can be when Boston gets on a roll.

Here are more notes from the second Twins-Red Sox game on Sunday:

-- Kutter Crawford pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in his MLB career. The Red Sox starter allowed just three runs with seven strikeouts across 7 2/3 innings.

"Kutter seemed like his stuff, after the fourth inning, was the best we've seen in awhile," Cora said. "... Throwing strikes. Very efficient. Overall, a good one."

-- Cora shared that closer Kenley Jansen will likely go on the injured list on Monday, which will likely end his season for the Red Sox. Jansen recently battled shoulder issues. He'll join Rafael Devers as the latest star to be shut down by Boston in the final week of the season.

-- Minnesota fell a game out of the wild-card standings after being swept by the Red Sox in the doubleheader, trailing fellow AL Central teams in the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals for the final playoff spots in the American League.

-- The Red Sox officially split the season series with the Twins with three wins apiece.

-- Boston won its 78th game of the season in Game 2. The Red Sox went 78-84 in each of the last two seasons and can improve on that mark six games remaining in the regular season.

-- The Red Sox embark on their final road trip of the year and begin a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. First pitch is set for 7:07 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.