· Speaking of the wind, Red Sox commentator Jerry Remy was knocked out of last night’s game after being struck by a monitor that blew off a stand. Remy did not have a concussion but was sent home after the first inning, but he will be back in the booth for today’s contest.
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Betts, who led off the game with a home run for the second consecutive night, was replaced in right field by Michael Martinez in the top of the fifth.
Suzuki left the game in the second after being hit in the chin by Pedroia’s foul tip.
Xander Bogaerts had an error to lead things off. Juan Centeno’s two-run double came on a ball that Jackie Bradley Jr. got his glove on. The Red Sox did not record another hit while Gibson was on the mound, as he held the Red Sox hitless from the second to eighth innings.
Twins starter Kyle Gibson allowed one run over eight innings and left with the Twins clinging to a one-run lead.
James Paxton pitched seven strong innings to win for the first time in three starts, Seth Smith doubled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Blue Jays 2-1 on Friday night, snapping Toronto’s winning streak at three.
“Gibson was the story”, Twins Manager Paul Molitor said. I know my teammates and the coaching staff, they have a lot of confidence in me. In a win over the Tigers his last time out, Milone managed 8.1 innings with four hits and two earned.
Rodriguez was making his first start at Fenway since June 22 and second overall after a two-game stint with Triple-A Pawtucket to work on his mechanics.
“A couple of pitches that they hit out I felt were decent, just a little bit too much of the plate”, he said.
But, that may just be Boston’s best attribute, as they are able to pound the ball and put up huge offensive numbers without relying on the long ball. The right-handed starter is 9-0 with a 2.98 ERA in 10 starts at Fenway this year, and the Sox are 10-0 when he starts a game at home. They earned their fifth victory in nine games to clinch a winning road trip.
The Twins tied it when Max Kepler tripled leading off the fourth before scoring on Vargas’ grounder.
The 32-year-old Suzuki had just returned to the lineup after resting Friday. “We’re trying to look at ways that we can potentially protect him if we needed to play him in an emergency”, Molitor said. Martinez had quite the experience in right on Saturday night, misplaying multiple fly balls in the windy conditions at Fenway. (1-for-4) and Bryce Brentz (1-for-4) added a single each to the Red Sox’s 10 hits. In those 10 starts, he boasts a 2.98 ERA with 52 strikeouts. But runners on first and third with two outs and the count full, Tazawa – who came in with the bases loaded and nobody out – got Byron Buxton to swing and miss at a splitter, ending the threat. RHP Ervin Santana (3-8, 3.93) faces Atlanta RHP Lucas Harrell (1-2, 4.24) in the first of a two-game series.
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The Red Sox – featuring MLB’s most potent offense but a middling starting rotation (19th in WAR) – surrendered teenage pitching sensation Anderson Espinoza to the Padres with the hope that Pomeranz has indeed turned a corner.
