MINNEAPOLIS -- All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 9-2 win over the Twins, complete with BSJ analysis and insight.
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Porcello embraces the role of stopper: The Red Sox had lost two straight and four of their last five before Thursday's road trip finale, but they had a determined starter on the mound in Rick Porcello. Turning in his best outing of the season, he allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings, willing his team to snap its mini-losing streak. Porcello got better as the afternoon wore on. He allowed his only hit in the first and retired the final 16 hitters he faced in succession. "We definitely needed a win today,'' Porcello said. "I definitely want to be the guy on the mound (in these situations). I think if you ask any of our starters, we'd probably all say that. That's part of being a competitor and trying to help our ballclub. We don't want to be in these situations were we need a bounce-back game, but I look forward to having the ball and trying to stop the bleeding.'' As a window into the competitiveness, Porcello wasted no time in avenging the fact that Twins starter Kyle Gibson sent J.D. Martinez to the dirt with a pitch in the top of the first. In the bottom of the same inning, Porcello threw a fastball that drilled Eduardo Esocbar on the elbow - a display that showed his teammates that he had their back.
Defensive shifting works!: The Red Sox devote a lot of time to studying where opposing hitters tend to hit the ball and position their fielders accordingly. The team's analytics department determined that the outfielders should shift way around to left against left-handed hitting Joe Mauer. That meant having right fielder Mookie Betts shifted way around toward center against Mauer, leaving most of right field unoccupied. Sure enough, leading off the sixth, Mauer hit a ball that Betts had to move about a half-step to glove. After making the catch and throwing the ball back into the infield, Betts took the information card that instructs players where to position themselves for every member of the lineup and with a smile, playfully waved the card toward the Sox' dugout. "That was a big topic before the game,'' said Cora with a smile. "It was an extreme (shift) from the analytical department. The (players) see stuff like that and they panic, so we made a few calls before, and they were like, 'It's right on — go with it.' I'm glad that it happened because while (the players) believe in what we're doing, sometimes they see something extreme. I was the happiest guy because...it reinforces what we're trying to accomplish.''
Bottom portion of lineup contributes: Entering the road trip finale, the Red Sox had been getting almost nothing out of the lower-third of their lineup. And when the top portion of order cools off — as inevitably happens — the Sox' entire offense shut down. So it was good for the Sox to get production from the likes of No. 7 hitter Brock Holt (single, double, run scored), Sandy Leon (walk, hit-by-pitch, run-scoring single, infield single, run scored) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (RBI single). In all, five of the team's 16 hits were generated by the final three members of the lineup.
TURNING POINT
As well as Porcello was pitching, the Red Sox were clinging to a 1-0 lead when the game moved to the top of the fifth. The solo homer by Mookie Betts seemed to ignite something in the Red Sox' lineup. They managed three more hits that inning and while they left the bases loaded without scoring after the home run, it unlocked their offense and gave them some momentum as they began adding on in the seventh and eighth.
TWO UP
Mitch Moreland: The first baseman has been trending downward in the last week or so, but after a single and a walk Wednesday night, busted out with a single, double and two walks and two runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts: Dropped back to his customary spot, No. 5, in the lineup, he had an infield single and a huge two-run double that was part of the team's three-run seventh inning.
ONE DOWN
Hector Velazquez: Charged with mopping up for the final two innings, he allowed three hits and a sacrifice fly, good for two runs, in the eighth and ninth with the Red Sox leading 9-0.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"They understand how important it is to finish strong. There were a few games that we could have stolen, a win here, a win there, but 6-4 is 6-4. It's a good trip.'' Alex Cora on the team winning the finale to give itself a winning road trip.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Red Sox improved to 19-5 in series finales.
- Boston is now 32-4 when scoring first.
- The one-hitter by Rick Porcello was his first since 2011.
- Andrew Benintendi's homer was his sixth in the last 18 games.
- Mookie Betts reached base seven times in the three-game series here.