All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Twins, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Houck stakes his claim: For the time being, the Red Sox are operating with a six-man starting rotation as a means of dealing with the logjam of potential starters they have on the roster, and also, because early in the year, the starters weren't giving them much length, putting pressure on the bullpen. At some point, the Sox are going to have to winnow done some of the candidates and shift some to relief role. Tanner Houck has made it clear that his preference is to remain in the rotation, and the way he's pitched, he's making a good case for himself. On Thursday, he gave the Sox seven innings -- marking his longest outing in the big leagues -- while allowing just three runs and striking out seven. It helps that Houck has added to his repertoire and is now throwing a cutter and a splitter to the rest of his pitch mix. The more pitches a starter has, the easier it is to go through a lineup several times. It was also a good sign that Houck was extremely efficient in the early going, consistently getting ahead of hitters and, thus, keeping his pitch count down and enabling him to go deep in the game.
Slumping hitters get right: Up and down the lineup, the Red Sox got contributions from everyone Thursday, with every member of the starting lineup collecting at least one hit in a balanced attack. That included a few who had slumped of late. Masataka Yoshida, who, after a lineout in the first inning, extended his hitless streak to 18 consecutive at-bats, came through with a run-scoring single up the middle in the third, then later added a second hit -- also a single, this one to left field -- in the eighth inning. Meanwhile, Yu Chang, who began the day hitting just .077, came through with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. And finally, Connor Wong, who started the afternoon hitting just .177, had a big hit in the six-run third, stroking a single to center which scored two runs.
TURNING POINT
Alex Cora has often spoken about the need to "keep the line moving'' in regard to the team's lineup, and that was on full display in the third inning when the Sox sent 10 men to the plate and scored six runs to claim a 7-0 lead and effectively put the game out of reach for the Twins. At one point in that inning, the Sox had seven hitters reach base in the span of eight plate appearances.
TWO UP
Kiké Hernandez: Hernandez had three hits and scored two runs. He's batting .423 (11-for-26) during what is now a seven-game hitting streak. He's also scored multiple runs in three straight games.
Alex Verdugo: With a leadoff homer and a third-inning single, he scored two runs as he continues to thrive in the leadoff spot in the order. He's hitting .333 when leading off an inning this season.
TWO DOWN
Ryan Brasier: Brought in with an eight-run lead in the ninth, Brasier allowed two runs and forced the Sox to get another reliever up. At one point, five of six Twins reached base against him.
Justin Turner: He hit a few balls hard, but hitting third in the order, had just one single to show for five plate appearances.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"I felt like I kind of had everything working. Just felt like I had a really good mix going. It was good to go out there and be able to attack hitters right away.'' - Houck.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* Jarren Duran had his fourth double in the last four games and is 5-for-13 since being promoted from Worcester.
* For the first time since last Sept. 18, every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit.
* Rafael Devers has 16 RBI in his last 12 games.
* The home run to lead off the bottom of the first by Alex Verdugo was the first leadoff homer of his career.
* Yu Chang has two homers in his last 13 plate appearances after going 46 plate appearances without one.
* The Sox improved to 8-4 in day games this season.
* The Red Sox are 5-1 vs. teams from the AL Central this season -- 3-0 vs. Detroit and 2-1 vs. Minnesota.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox begin a six-game road trip with the first of three in Milwaukee Friday night. It will be RHP Nick Pivetta (0-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (2-1, 3.18) at 8:10 p.m.