All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 9-3 win over the Twins, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
The Red Sox offense pounded the Twins pitching on Monday night in the series opener in Minnesota. Jarren Duran went 3-for-3 with three doubles and Alex Verdugo had two hits with four RBI to lead the Sox.
Verdugo is no stranger to hitting the ball well in Minnesota. He came into the series at Target Field with a career .388 average and had a big three-run RBI triple in the sixth inning that broke the game open and have the Sox a 6-3 lead.
Duran had three doubles, he now has 21 on the season, which is impressive considering he missed the first month of the season playing in Triple-A Worcester.
Triston Casas added two hits in the game, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning. The blast was his eighth of the season and extended the Sox lead to 8-3.
James Paxton continued to anchor down his place in the Sox' rotation, earning his third win of the season (3-1) by tossing 6 1/3 innings, giving up three hits, three earned runs, one walk while striking out seven batters.
TURNING POINT
With the game tied 3-3 heading into the sixth inning, the Red Sox exploded for three runs off the bat of Verdugo.
Following a Christian Arroyo strike out on a foul tip, Casas crushed a long single off the right field wall. He would later move to third base on a Connor Wong double, his 14th this season. Even though Duran was 3-for-3, Alex Cora pinch-hit Rob Refsnyder to face a lefty, Jovani Moran.
After walking Refsnyder, the bases were loaded for Verdugo and he laced a ball down the first base line, plating three runners. Verdugo's third triple of the season gave the Sox a three-run lead which ultimately was the game-winner.
ALEX VERDUGO CLEARS THE BASES WITH A TRIPLE!
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) June 20, 2023
He’s back to hitting .300 on the season.
Red Sox now up 6-3!
pic.twitter.com/bbPf02Kypv
UP
With the Sox win on Monday night, Cora won his 400th career game as Red Sox skipper. He is now just 11 wins from passing Don Zimmer for eighth for most wins all-time.
The Sox bullpen continued to look strong in the win with Josh Winckowski tossing 2/3rds of an inning (one strikeout) and Justin Garza pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits while walking two and striking out three.
DOWN
Rafael Devers was hitless (0-for-4) in the series opener with a walk and two strikeouts. Devers had a chance to break the game open early in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Lòpez made Devers look silly with a changeup stranding the runners.
NOTABLE
Christian Vázquez hit his first home run of the season off Paxton to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Vázquez has struggled in his first season with the Twins after signing a three-year, $30 million deal in December. The veteran catcher is hitting .224 with 15 RBI.
SERIES PROBABLES VS. TWINS
Tuesday: RHP Kutter Crawford (1-3, 4.20 ERA) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (4-3, 2.65 ERA)
Wednesday: RHP Garrett Whitlock (4-2, 4.38 ERA) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (4-1, 2.37 ERA)
Thursday: TBD vs. TBD
