Pete Schourek got the start and he immediately ran into trouble in the top of the first inning. Christian Guzman singled but Pete struck out Denny Hocking. Matt Lawton and Ron Coomer hit back to back singled to give the Twins a quick 1-0 lead. Butch Huskey glied out and Matt LeCroy grounded out to end the inning. Twins starter Brad Radke fared better in the home half of the first. Jose Offerman grounded out but Trot Nixon doubled. Brian Daubach walked but Nomar Garciaparra struck out. Troy O'Leary grounded out to end the inning.
Corey Koskie walked to begin the top of the second inning. Torii Hunter struck out and Koskie was gunned down at second trying to steal by the alert Scott Hatteberg. Justin Maxwell struck out to end the inning. Carl Everett flied out to begin the bottom of the second. Mike Stanley walked but Hatteberg struck out. Wilton Veras popped up to end the inning.
The Twins struck again in the top of the third inning. Guzman doubled and Hocking sac bunted him over to third. Guzman scored on the single by Lawton to make it 2-0 Twins. Coomer banged into a double play but the damage was done. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third. Offerman grounded out but Nixon singled. Daubach doubled in Trot to cut the lead 2-1 but Nomar couldn't advance him with a ground out. O'Leary grounded out to end the inning but the Sox were on the board.
Huskey grounded out to start the top of the fourth. LeCroy flied out but Koskie walked. Hunter flied out to end the inning. Radke got through a clean bottom of the fourth when Everett struck out, Stanley flied out and Hatteberg struck out to end the inning.
Schourek finally had a clean inning in the top of the fifth. Maxwell flied out as both Guzman and Hocking grounded out. Radke remained tough in the bottom of the fifth. Veras flied out, Offerman grounded out and Nixon flied out to end the inning.
The Twins failed to score in the top of the sixth when Lawton singled but Coomer banged into a double play. Huskey struck out to end the inning, once again Schourek pitched well but received no run support.....until the bottom of the sixth when Daubach led off with a solo blast that tied the game 2-2. Nomar flied out, O'Leary grounded out and Everett flied out to end the inning.
The Twins got the run right back in the top of the seventh. LeCroy walked but Koskie struck out. Hunter walked and Maxwell lofted a ball right to Schourek...who airmailed Stanley with the throw and the bases were loaded. Guzman hit a sac fly that scored LeCroy and advanced Hunter to third. That was it for Pete as Sox manager Jimy Williams brought in Rich Garces to face Hocking, who walked. With the bases loaded, Garces got Lawton to fly out to end the inning. The Twins led 3-2 but it could have been worse. The Sox answered in the bottom of the seventh. Stanley and Hatteberg hit back to back singles. Jeff Frye pinch ran for Stanley as Veras sacrifice bunted both runners. Offerman scored Frye with a sac fly to tie the game. Travis Miller was brought in to face Nixon who walked. Daubach struck out to end the inning but the Sox had tied it up 3-3.
Tim Wakefield (1-0) took over for Rich Garces in the top of the 8th as Frye stayed in the game at second, Offerman moving to first. Coomer popped up but Huskey walked. Todd Walker pinch ran for Huskey and swiped second. Wakefield recovered to strike out LeCroy and Koskie. The Sox had a weird, yet productive inning in the bottom of the 8th. Bob Wells replaced Miller and Nomar started it with a single. O'Leary walked and Maxwell booted a ground bal hit by Everett to load the bases. Frye lofted a fly ball and Nomar made a mad dash for home....OUT! Eddie Guardado replaced Wells and Sox manager Jimy Williams countered by pinch hitting for the strictly lefty Hatteberg with the switch hitting Varitek. Varitek walked to re-load the bases and Veras walked to score the go-ahead run. Offerman struck out to end the inning but the Sox had the lead.
Derek Lowe quickjly warmed up and took the mound for the top of the 9th to close the game out. Varitek stayed in the game to catch. The Slocumb Boys if you will. Midre Cummings pinch hit for Torii Hunter and struck out. Jacque Jones pinch hit for Maxwell and grounded out. Guzman worked a walk and Twins manager Tom Kelly sent David Ortiz out to pinch hit for Hocking. Ortiz grounded out to end the game, the Sox had won 4-3.
Hero of the Night is Wilton Veras. His eagle-eyed walk drove in the go-ahead run to win the game plus he put the team ahead of his own stats with a sacrifice bunt that helped tie the game.
The Good:
Trot Nixon was 2 for 3 with a walk and run scored. Brian Daubach was 2 for 3 with a walk including a 2 run home run. Mike Stanley was 1 for 2 with a walk. Scott Hatteberg was 1 for 3. Jason Varitek pinch hit for Hatteberg and walked. Pete Schourek pitched well, going 6 2/3 giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 5. Rich Garces got the last out of the 7th inning. Tim Wakefield got his first win of the year with a scoreless 8th inning. Derek Lowe earned his second save by closing out the 9th.
The Bad:
Carl Everett was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jose Offerman was 0 for 4 but hit a crucial sac fly to tie the game. Nomar Garciaparra was just 1 for 4. Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jeff Frye was 0 for 1 but scored the tying run.
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