BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 10, Twins 4 - Boston picks up sixth straight win as Arroyo, offense surge behind Crawford

All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Twins, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Red Sox offense explodes for sixth win in a row: The Red Sox blew out the Twins, 10-4, for their sixth straight win. Boston cracked the game open with a five-run top of the seventh inning. Christian Arroyo was a late addition to the lineup but went 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, four RBI and a run. Adam Duvall and Masataka Yoshida each homered as well. Alex Verdugo and Triston Casas extended their hitting streaks, and Kutter Crawford came through with five scoreless innings in the start. The Sox can take the win in the series on Wednesday.

Crawford comes through again on the road: Crawford gave Boston exactly what it needed in five innings of work, allowing no runs on six hits with five strikeouts and continuing his strong run of form on the road. His ERA on the road dropped from 2.60 to 2.04. Bent but didn’t break, slamming the door and pitching himself out of some jams, even if his command wasn’t at its best

TURNING POINT

Top of the seventh: The Twins were hanging around, down just 3-0 going into the seventh, but the Red Sox put the game firmly out of reach in the top half of the inning. Justin Turner got the fireworks started with an RBI double (that should be a triple) before Yoshida added an RBI single. Arroyo put an exclamation point on the inning with a bases-clearing double to make it 8-0. 

FOUR UP

Kutter Crawford: Put his head down and ground through five innings. Worked his four-seam fastball well, and his cutter was effective, especially against lefties, which has been an area for improvement this season. Big bounce back after last week’s outing against the Rockies.

Adam Duvall: Duval needed that home run badly after struggling at the plate since his return from injury (just two doubles and hitting .176). That ball was absolutely crushed, too. Launched 426 feet to dead center with a 107.8 mph exit velocity. 

Christian Arroyo: Thrust into the lineup less than an hour before first pitch, Arroyo could not have come through more in place of Pablo Reyes (right abdominal soreness) with his 5-for-5 night. His homer in the fourth was a no-doubter. Great piece of hitting on his double the other way into the corner in right to crack it open in the seventh.

Masataka Yoshida: Yoshida with another strong day at the plate for Boston, going 3-for-5 with a no-doubt home run of his own into the upper deck, three RBI and three runs. Picked up his first homer since May 31.

ONE DOWN

Corey Kluber: Apparently no lead is safe with Kluber. After getting through the seventh inning cleanly, the veteran gave up a two-run shot to the ice-cold Byron Buxton to spoil the shutout in the eighth. Gave up two back-to-back bombs in the ninth as well to make you feel just a little nervous. It was enough for his first save in the Majors, though. Neat.

NOTABLE 

During the six-game winning streak, the Red Sox:

• Are hitting .333
• Have a plus-32 run differential
• Have a 2.56 ERA from starters
• Have a 2.82 ERA from the bullpen
• Have the second-most runs in the MLB (50)
• Have a .368 average from the bottom third of the order to go with 15 RBI and a .429 average with RISP and two outs

Arroyo is hitting .291 with three homers, seven doubles, 11 RBI and a .915 OPS in his last 18 games. He’s the first Red Sox player since Rafael Devers in 2019 to go 5-for-5. 

The Red Sox .290 average with RISP and two outs is the second-best in the MLB this season. 

QUOTE OF NOTE

"Stay ready, so you don't have to get ready," Arroyo said. "So I was just mentally getting ready to play. You know, I mean, and anytime that I get an opportunity to play, I just went off the team when. So yeah, I mean I found out probably 35 minutes before the game."

UP NEXT

The third of the four-game set will be Wednesday at 7:40 p.m. ET at Target Field. RHP Garrett Whitlock (4-2, 4.3) is expected to face RHP Sonny Gray (4-1, 2.37 ERA).