The Red Sox erupted for three runs in the second and never looked back, routing the Minnesota Twins 12-2 to win the series and finish their homestand at 4-2. Bobby Dalbec smoked two homers and drove in a total of seven runs while Rafael Devers homered and knocked in three.
Chris Sale pitched 5.1 innings, during which he allowed just two hits -- a swinging bunt, followed by a two-run homer from Willans Astudillo. Sale improved to 3-0.
WHO: Red Sox (72-66) vs. Minnesota Twins ( 55-71)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: 1-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: BOS 4-2
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (2-0, 1.80 ) vs. RHP John Gant (4-7, 3.77 )
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93,7
LINEUPS
TWINS
Refsnyder RF
Rooker LF
Donaldson DH
Sano 1B
Arraez 3B
Jeffers C
Astudillo 3B
Gordon CF
Simmons SS
RED SOX
Hernandez SS
Schwarber DH
Martinez LF
Devers 3B
Verdugo RF
Vazquez C
Arroyo 2B
Duran CF
Dalbec 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
B7: Have a night, Bobby Dalbec. Third hit, second homer, and a total of seven RBI on the night.
B6: Devers with another sign that he's busting out -- a two-run shot into the Red Sox bullpen. First homer since Aug. 14.
B6: Sharp single to center by Dalbec scores two more runs, giving him five RBI for the night.
T6: Garrett Whitlock comes in for Sale with two on and one out and gets out of the jam with a swinging strikeout of Miguel Sano and a groundout from Luis Arraez.
B5: Rafael Devers, with just three hits in his previous 22 at-bats, rips a single to right, scoring Kike Hernandez and sending Schwarber to third.
T5: In the span of two plate appearances, Sale's no hitter and his shutout disappear. A swinging bunt by Ryan Jeffers is the first hit, followed by a two-run clout off one of the Monster Seats by Willians Astudillo.
B3: Sox increase their lead to 4-0 as Kyle Schwarber doubles, takes third on a groundout and ride home on a sharp single to LF by Alex Verdugo.
T3: An immaculate inning for Sale -- nine pitches, nine strikes, three strikeouts.
B2: Mammoth three-run homer for Dalbec, who reaches the Monster Seats in left-center on a sinker on the inner half. That's No. 15 for the season for Dalbec and his first since Aug. 14.
T2: That's the kind of play that Bobby Dalbec has seldom made this season -- drop-step to his left, and coming up with a hard-hit ball on the line.
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox are 3-2 in their last five games and 7-6 in their last 13, after going 2-10 in their previous 12...They are 17-20 since the All-Star break....The Red Sox are 6-2 in their last 8 home games and 21-9 in their last 30...Overall, their .606 win % at home ranks fifth in the AL (eight in MLB). In their last 10 home games, the Sox have scored 83 runs (8.3 per game) and hit 20 HR...They scored six or more runs in eight of those games and 11+ runs in three of them. ....Tomorrow, the Red Sox begin a seven-day, seven-game road trip against CLE (3 G) and TB (4 G). The Sox began the season 8-2-0 in road series (22-10 in games), but they are since 2-8-0 (10-20 in games). The Sox have lost their last four road series (2-11 in games)...They have lost their last four road games, matching their longest losing streak of the season... In the Red Sox’ last three games, Kiké Hernández and Kyle Schwarber have combined to reach base in 15 of 31 plate appearances (.484 OBP) with 3 HR. Schwarber has hit .379 with a .514 OBP in nine games with the Sox (11-for-29, 8 BB)...During his current career-long 22-game on-base streak, he has hit .372 with a 1.396 OPS (29-for-78, 14 BB, 13 HR). Since Hernández returned to the leadoff spot on June 27, he leads the AL in OBP (.410)...In those 50 games, he has a .979 OPS while leading the Sox in hits (56), runs (35), XBH (27), walks (33), and total bases (107)....The Red Sox have hit multiple HR in each of their last three games (nine HR total)...Tuesday night marked their 12th game with four or more HR, tied with SF for most in the majors (12-0 in those games). The Sox’ 166 HR this season have averaged a projected distance of 405 feet, the 3rd-longest average in the majors behind the Rockies (412) and Twins (406). The Sox lead the majors with 30 HR with at least two runners on base (27 three-run, three grand slams...The Red Sox lead the majors in doubles (266) and XBH (449) and rank fifth in runs per game (5.02), third in AVG (.260), second in SLG (.445), and third in OPS (.770). The Red Sox own MLB’s best record when scoring at least four runs (.842, 64-12). The Sox have scored 10+ runs in a game 16 times (tied for second-most in MLB) and 15+ runs three times (most in AL)...The Red Sox lead the majors in runs scored with two outs (270)...With RISP & two outs, the Sox lead the majors in AVG (.270) and OPS (.846). With two strikes, the Sox lead MLB in RBI (258) & XBH (157)...Five of their last seven HR have been hit with two strikes...Beginning 8/7, Nathan Eovaldi (three GS) and Chris Sale (two GS) have combined to post a 1.55 ERA with 36 SO and three BB (5 ER/29.0 IP). Sox starters posted a 2.64 ERA in 11 games from Aug,. 7-17 but they own a 5.54 ERA in six games since then...In those 17 games, they own the AL’s best SO/BB ratio (4.80; 96 SO, 20 BB). Only seven pitchers have started a game for the Sox, the fewest in the majors...They have not used fewer than 8 starting pitchers in a season since 1965 (7... Red Sox outfielders lead MLB with 35 assists and rank 8th with 15 defensive runs saved (source: FanGraphs)...Boston’s single-season high in OF assists since 2000 is 37 (2014 and 2019... Rafael Devers ranks among the top three in the majors in doubles (T-first, 34), RBI (second, 91), and XBH (third, 64)...With one more HR, he would join Ted Williams as the only Red Sox to record multiple 30-HR seasons before turning 25 (Devers hit 32 HR in 2019)....The Red Sox have come from behind in each of their last two wins...They rank second in the majors with 37 comeback wins (Rays-39)....Xander Bogaerts is just 2-for-17 in his last four games while J,D. Martinez is hitless in his last 15 at-bats is just 4-for-30 overall and Devers is just 3-for-20....Hunter Renfroe has 10 homers in his last 21 games.
NOTES:
* The Red Sox had planned to have Kyle Schwarber at first base, but mitigating circumstances have changed that, Hunter Renfroe has left the team for a death in the family and has been placed on the bereavement list. To take his spot on the roster, the Red Sox recalled Jarren Duran, who will play CF. J.D. Martinez will play left, Schwarber will DH and Bobby Dalbec is at first, with Alex Verdugo in RF. The expectation is that Schwarber will play first in Cleveland this weekend.
* Martinez is in the midst of one of the worst slumps of his season, 0-for-15 and just 4-for-30. "With JD, he's always been aggressive,'' said Alex Cora. "He swings the bat. But I do believe lately it's been more than usual. He's chasing pitches in certain spots and he hasn't been able to drive the ball. Sometimes you get out of slumps (by) swinging; sometimes, it should be the other way around -- recognize what they're doing, who you are. They're not going to right after him. Hit a few line drives to right field, take a few walks and get locked in. His swing rate and chase rate have been going up. He's such an important part of this offense that he feels the burden of, 'Yeah, I've got to do my part.' But sometimes, doing your part is taking pitches, walking, keep the line moving. We've been talking about that.''
* Cora on dealing with players making mental mistakes, as happened Wednesday night. "We don't have to embarrass people and let everybody know with 'He's out of the game because of this...' They get the message. Sometimes, those mistakes, obviously, it happens over 162 games. Forgetting the outs is always hard, not running out the box is tough to see. We just keep pounding it, keep talking about it. For now, obviously, it's not working 100 percent, but I do believe I have a good sense, a good pulse of those situations, how to handle it.''
* Cora praised the work of lefty reliever Austin Davis, who has turned in five straight scoreless appearances. "Little by little, he's found his rhythm,'' said Cora. "He's made some mechanical adjustments. We kind of understand who he is and his stuff. Yesterday, the changeup was outstanding and the fastball has played since he got here. He's gaining confidence and we're gaining confidence in him because we've seen him more often now and see who he is. We're gaining trust little by little.''