BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo’s RBI single off the base of the right field wall, near the famed Pesky Pole, came with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and capped a three-run rally and gave the Boston Red Sox a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins Tuesday night.
The Red Sox trailed 4-2 until Reese McGuire hit a two-run single with no outs in the 10th. After Jarren Duran singled to load the bases, the Twins turned a double play before Verdugo’s third hit of the game scored McGuire with the winning run.
The Twins took a 3-2 lead when Byron Buxton’s sacrifice fly scored Nick Gordon in the top of the 10th. Minnesota made it 4-2 when Donovan Solano scored from third on Jose Miranda’s groundout later in the inning.
Chris Sale started for the Red Sox and struck out 11 in six innings. He allowed a run on three hits and walked two.
It was a 1-1 game when Sale exited the mound, and Max Kepler homered on the second pitch from reliever Josh Winckowski to give the Twins a 2-1 lead in the seventh. It was Kepler’s second home run of the season.
Boston tied the game in the eighth, when Enrique Hernandez scored from third on a fielder’s-choice grounder from Duran. Hernandez had gone from first to third when Minnesota’s Christian Vazquez was called for catcher’s interference.
Rafael Devers, Justin Turner and Duran each collected two hits for the Red Sox, who outhit the Twins 12-4. Minnesota also committed two errors.
Minnesota starting pitcher Sonny Gray limited the Red Sox to one run on seven hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first, when Verdugo led off with a double and came home on a Devers single. The Twins tied the game in the fifth on a Carlos Correa bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Michael Taylor.
John Schreiber (1-0) got the win despite allowing two runs, one earned, in the top of the 10th. The Red Sox earned their fourth victory in five games.
Jovani Moran (0-1) took the loss, Minnesota’s third in a row.
–Field Level Media