Twins

6/29: Extra-Base Hits and Shoddy Defense Doom Twins in 6-3 Loss to Red Sox

The Minnesota Twins staked starter Kyle Gibson to an early 3-0 lead, but it wasn’t enough as the Boston Red Sox scored runs in four straight innings to grab a 6-3 win as well as a 3-1 series win Thursday evening at Fenway Park. Red Sox lefty David Price held the Twins mostly in check through seven innings before giving way to Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel, who each tossed a hitless inning to seal the win.

BOX SCORE

Gibson lasted 5.2 innings — a mark he has reached in five of his last six starts — and allowed runs (three earned) with two strikeouts and a walk. A positive sign for Gibson was that 12 of the 23 batters he faced hit the ball on the ground — the third time in his last five starts he’s induced at least 10 grounders.  

The Twins got on the board in the first inning as Brian Dozier doubled to deep center, moved to third on a Robbie Grossman fly out and scored on a Joe Mauer groundout. The Twins added to the lead on a two-run, two-out double off the Green Monster from Jorge Polanco which scored Grossman and Mauer. Grossman had doubled to left to lead the inning off, while Mauer followed with an infield single.

That was all the Twins offense was able to muster, however, as Price settled in from there. The lefty retired 10 of the next 12 batters he faced to wrap up his night.

“Really good pitchers are going to seize the opportunity, seize the moment,” Boston manager John Farrell told the Associated Press.

The Red Sox got on the board in the fourth, as Mookie Betts ambushed a 1-0 pitch from Gibson for a home run to left. “Just went up there and tried to put a good swing on a good pitch,” Betts told the Associated Press of his homer off Gibson. “I was able to put a couple in play for a couple of RBI, but we had a great offensive night all around.”

Gibson settled down to get the next three batters out to leave the inning with a 3-1 lead, but immediately got back in trouble in the fifth. Hanley Ramirez opened the inning with a walk, and scored when Jackie Bradley Jr. doubled on a 3-1 pitch. Christian Vazquez reached on a Polanco error, moved to third on a Deven Marrero groundout that scored Bradley to tie the game and came home on a Betts single which gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.

The Bradley double was a strange play, in that it hit a ladder that goes up the Green Monster.

“(The ladder) has been in play for as long as I can remember, but I can’t think of one that had that type of effect on the baseball,” manager Paul Molitor told Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It really deadened it. It changed the carom, came straight down and died at the track.”

Gibson’s day was done in the sixth when he allowed a home run to dead center off the bat of Ramirez on a 3-0 pitch. That gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead, and prompted Molitor to bring in lefty Buddy Boshers. Boshers pitched through the sixth without issue, but allowed a leadoff triple to Tzu-Wei Lin followed by a double to Marrero to cap the scoring, 6-3.   

Phil Hughes tossed the final 1.2 innings for the Twins in his return from the disabled list. It was his first MLB relief appearance since the outing last June when a J.T. Realmuto smash broke a bone above his left knee. The return was successful, as he allowed just one hit with a pair of strikeouts in his new role. He’ll work out of the bullpen at least for the time being, and potentially for the rest of the season.

The Twins could only muster one hit against the flamethrowing duo of Kelly and Kimbrel, as both threatened and breached 100 mph with their fastballs. Kimbrel struck out two batters of the three outs he got, and is now up to 63 strikeouts and just five walks in 34.1 innings pitched. He’s allowing less than a baserunner every other inning this season (0.49 WHIP).

[Associated Press], [Pioneer Press]


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