It took 19 hits and a franchise-record four hours and 11 minutes, but in the end the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 11-9 in windy Fenway Park.
“It felt like a record,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune. “One of those games where there’s a lot of trading punches and you just try to find a way to sustain. It’s easy to preach about trying to play nine innings, but sometimes you’re challenged to dig a little bit deeper.”
Ricky Nolasco lasted only 2.0 innings, giving up six hits, six earned runs and a home run, but the Twins offense carried them in a game that they led 4-1, fell behind 6-4 and were down 8-5 before a five-run seventh that put them ahead for good.
“Tough night from the mound, obviously,” Boston manager John Farrell told the Associated Press. “You give up 19 hits, 11 runs, not a good night from the mound.”
Miguel Sano didn’t pursue a pop-up in the fourth and committed a throwing error in the sixth, but hit a home run in the eighth that capped the scoring for Minnesota. Eddie Rosario went 4-for-4.
“One of those crazy nights in Boston,” Molitor told the Star Tribune. “You see a lot of games [like it] throughout the year. I don’t know how they do it 81 times a year.”
[Star Tribune, Associated Press]
