All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Twins, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Shaky bullpen almost gives it up: What looked to be an easy win -- with the Red Sox leading 9-3 after five innings -- turned into a nail-biter for the home team. Over the final four innings, a handful of relievers combined to give up six runs and put what had been a healthy lead in jeopardy. Ultimately, it fell to Hansel Robles to close out the game against the team that traded him away some four weeks ago. Robles retired all three hitters he faced -- the first two by strikeout, the third on a hard lineout to second -- with the tying runs on base and he did so by relying almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball. Of the 21 pitches Robles threw, 17 were four-seam fastballs, as he reached back and challenged his former teammates. That helped make up for poor showings by Martin Perez and Hirokazu Sawamura. Adam Ottavino allowed two baserunners but managed to prevent the Twins from scoring.
Homers help the cause: For the 12th time this season, the Red Sox managed to hit at least four homers, and as it turned out, needed every last one of them. Together, the four homers helped produce eight of the team's 11 runs on the night. Leading the way was Hunter Renfroe, who cranked two moonshots into the Monster Seats -- a three-run blast in the fourth and a two-run belt an inning later. Renfroe has homered in back-to-back games, in three of his last four, five of his last nine and nine of his last 20 and now ranks second on the team in homers, behind only Rafael Devers, who leads with 29. Also contributing were Travis Shaw, who homered for the second time in as many days, and Kike Hernandez, who supplied a critical bit of cushion in the bottom of the eighth. It's probably not good strategy to have to rely on such a power burst every night to outhit the mistakes made by your pitching staff, but on this night, at least, it worked.
Barnes remains resolute: To say that August has been a poor month for closer Matt Barnes would be a colossal understatement. He's had a direct hand in three losses in the last few weeks, and it took late-inning heroics on both Monday and Tuesday to bail him out after he pitched the Sox into the ditch in the ninth inning both times. On Monday, he got rescued by the tandem of Garrett Whitlock and Travis Shaw. On Tuesday, it was Hansel Robles who got the final three outs when Barnes couldn't record one, allowing a homer on his second pitch before issuing two walks and being lifted. "It's a frustrating game and I don't know that you're going to find someone who's more frustrating than me right now,'' Barnes said. "We're going to keep grinding...At the end of the day, it's about winning ballgames right now, plain and simple. I've picked a bad time to start sucking. But even with the my struggles, guys have come through and picked me up.''
TURNING POINT
When Kike Hernandez clubbed a two-run homer off one of the signs in the Monster Seats in the bottom of the eighth, it seemed like some nice insurance for the Sox, who had led by a single run at that point. But when Matt Barnes allowed a mammoth solo shot to Josh Donaldson, the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth, the significance of that homer became far greater. Without it, the Sox would have squandered yet another ninth-inning lead.
ONE UP
Alex Verdugo: The outfielder remains one of the hottest hitters on the Sox, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances with three hits and a walk. He's got six hits in his last two games.
TWO DOWN
Martin Perez: It was hoped that, after being removed from the rotation and shifted to the bullpen, Perez would give the Sox some length in relief. But in 1.1 innings, he was rocked for three runs.
Xander Bogaerts: The shortstop had an 0-for-5 night at the plate, with two infield popups.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Sometimes, wins like this can help build character.'' Alex Cora.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The two-homer game was the second of the season for Hunter Renfroe and 14th of his career.
* Eight of the last 13 hits from Rafael Devers have gone for extra bases.
* The Red Sox reached double figures in runs scored for the 16th time this season, tied for second in MLB.
* Alex Verdugo recorded his seventh outfield assist, giving the Red Sox 35 outfield assists for the year.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox and Twins continue their series at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday with RHP Nick Pivetta (9-6, 4.43) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (1-2, 4.38)