 got the win by holding the Twins scoreless in the 10th after Craig Kimbrel blew a shot at his 33rd save in the ninth.Eddie Rosario hit a two-run double with two outs in the ninth to give Minnesota its first lead.Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer in the fifth for Boston and Chris Sale struck out 10 over six scoreless innings. Sale was on track to win his sixth straight start before the late hits took both starters out of the decision.Kimbrel, who came in for the last out of the eighth but couldn't survive his own control issues in the ninth. Robbie Grossman drew a walk with one out and advanced on a wild pitch, Jorge Polanco walked with two outs and Rosario drove in both with a double to center, giving the Twins their first lead of the night.It didn't last long. Devers homered off Fernando Rodney with a line drive to right, just out of Max Kepler's reach as he crashed hard into the short wall. Kepler stayed down on the warning track for a minute or two but remained in the game.It was the sixth blown save of the season for Rodney. Belisle (1-1) took over in the 10th and faced only Betts, who ended it with his 25th homer of the season.Sale extended his scoreless-innings streak to 23 straight innings and picked up his 200th strikeout when he got Mitch Garver swinging to end the first.Lance Lynn also pitched six innings, holding Boston to just two runs on Bradley's homer in the fifth. He struck out three and walked two.TRAINER'S ROOMTwins: 1B Joe Mauer, who has a career batting average of .195 against Sale, had the night off until pinch-hitting in the eighth, flying out to left on the first pitch from Kimbrel. . The Twins were also without IF Eduardo Escobar, who was traded to Arizona earlier Tuesday for three prospects. Escobar was second on the club in hits (101) and led Minnesota with 63 RBIs.Red Sox: 1B Mitch Moreland was out of the starting lineup for the second straight night with soreness in his left knee. Moreland said he's trying to give the knee a few days of rest and hopes to be back later in the weekend.UP NEXTTwins: RHP Jake Odorizzi (4-6, 4.37 ERA) is 4-5 in 17 career starts against Boston with an ERA of 4.45.Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (12-4, 3.93) didn't allow a run in his last start, scattering six hits over six innings in Boston's 5-3 win at Baltimore on Monday.)
Sox stopper Sale aims to silence Twins 2h ago• 3 min read BOSTON -- It would be hard for the Boston Red Sox to ask Chris Sale to do anything more than he has for the team this season, especially during the last month.But Friday night, the skinny left-hander will try to end Boston's first two-game losing streak in more than a month when he faces the Minnesota Twins in the second game of a four-game series at Fenway Park.The Red Sox, who haven't lost three in a row since April, dropped two straight games on June 19-20 at Minnesota and have now lost two in a row again (with the rainout that wiped out a 5-0 lead in Baltimore in the middle).Sale, 11-4 with a 2.13 ERA overall, has allowed one run in 33 innings of his last five starts -- yielding 18 hits and striking out 57 while walking one during that span. He has given up five earned runs in his last eight starts.Starting play Thursday, Sale was leading the major leagues in strikeouts (197), strikeouts per nine innings (13.13), opponents' batting average (.180) and opponents' OPS (.536). He was leading the American League (second in MLB) in ERA and was second in the league in WHIP (0.80).He will face Lance Lynn, one of the Twins who has been mentioned as trade fodder with the deadline approaching. But Minnesota won its fourth straight Thursday night and is seven games behind the Cleveland Indians in the woeful AL Central."Oh, we're gonna win the division," closer Fernando Rodney said after escaping a ninth-inning jam for the save in Thursday's 2-1 winKyle Gibson, another name mentioned in trade talks, pitched eight strong innings in front of opposition scouts Thursday night. Catcher Mitch Garver, who drove in five runs in Wednesday's win in Toronto, had the winning hit Thursday and noted his pitcher may have gotten himself traded."We all understand that," Garver said. "That's the way it goes. Just an inspired performance." Lynn is 7-8 with a 5.23 ERA this season and 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in four career regular-season starts against Boston, 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two games at Fenway. But he also lost a game while pitching twice against the Red Sox for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 World Series.He beat the Sox on June 20 in Minneapolis, going five innings without allowing an earned run.Sale is 10-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 27 games -- 19 starts -- against the Twins in his career. He had a no-decision and struck out 11 in six innings on June 19 at Minnesota.The Twins have won three of their four games against the Red Sox this season.The Red Sox, whose lead atop of the AL East dipped to 4 1/2 games over the Yankees, had the bases loaded with two outs and a 3-0 count on Jackie Bradley Jr. against Rodney, but the veteran threw three straight strikes to end it. Mitch Moreland, on the bench, is 6-for-10 lifetime against Rodney.Eddie Rosario is 5-for-13 (.385) and Logan Morrison 5-for-15 (.333) with a homer off Sale. Brian Dozier has a .273 batting average but four doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs in 44 career at-bats against him. Joe Mauer is 8-for-41 (.195).Mookie Betts is 4-for-8 (.500) with a homer against Lynn, Xander Bogaerts is just 1-for-11 (.091) and Andrew Benintendi 1-for-7 (.143).The Red Sox announced before the game that Nathan Eovaldi, just acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, will start Sunday's series finale against the Twins, Boston sent Brandon Workman, who has pitched well, back to Triple-A to make room for Eovaldi on the 25-man roster."I'm very excited about joining the Red Sox," Eovaldi said after throwing a bullpen Thursday. "I'm very thankful for the opportunity they're giving me. I know they gave up a big prospect in (Jalen) Beeks for me, so yeah, I'm super excited to be here."
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