The Red Sox wasted no time getting to Twins starter Brad Radke in the top of the first inning. Jeff Frye grounded out to first before Brian Daubach struck out swinging. Carl Everett singled to right and Nomar Garciaparra struck his 9th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Morgan Burkhart struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
The Twins answered in the bottom of the first against Crawford as Midre Cummings singled to center to start. Christian Guzman singled Cummings to third but Matt Lawton popped up to short. Guzman stole second and Ron Coomer scored Cummings with a sac fly. Corey Koskie grounded out to first to end the inning with the Twins down 2-1.
Troy O'Leary flied out to center to start the top of the second before Bernard Gilkey popped up to second. Jason Varitek grounded out to first to end the inning. David Ortiz singled to left to start the bottom of the second but Chad Moeller popped up to Frye in foul territory. Jacque Jones grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Ed Sprague Jr grounded out to short to start. Frye singled to left and Daubach plastered his 14th home run of the season to increase the lead. Everett grounded out to second and Nomar struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 4-1 Sox.
Jay Canizaro flied out to center to start the bottom of the third but Cummings singled to right. Guzman singled to left but Cummings was doubled off second after a great catch by Everett on a sinking line drive off the bat of Lawton to end the inning.
Radke cruised in the top of the fourth inning as Burkhart grounded out to first to start. Both O'Leary and Gilkey struck out swinging to end the inning. Coomer popped up to Frye to begin the bottom of the fourth before Koskie did the same. Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning.
Varitek flied out to right to start the top of the fifth and Sprague popped up to second. Frye lined out to center to end the inning. Moeller grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the fifth before Jones struck out swinging. Canizaro flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Daubach flied out to left to start. Everett walked and Nomar belted his second home run of the day to increase the lead. Burkhart grounded out to second and O'Leary grounded out to short to end the inning with Boston ahead 6-1.
Cummings flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth and Guzman's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Daubach. Lawton grounded out to second to end the inning.
Boston added to the lead in the top of the seventh although Gilkey grounded out to short to start. Varitek walked and Sprague singled in the hole at short before Manny Alexander pinch ran for Ed. Frye took strike three but Daubach hit a gap shot to right. Varitek scored easily and Alexander beat the throw home by a millimeter, but Daubach was gunned down at third trying to stretch a triple to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.
Crawford returned for one more inning in the bottom of the seventh as Coomer popped up to Alexander to start. Koskie doubled to right but Ortiz also popped up to Alexander. Moeller struck out swinging to end the inning. Crawford was sensational, tossing 7 innings while allowing just 6 hits and a run.
Bob Wells took over for Radke in the top of the eighth and Everett struck out swinging to start. Nomar flied out to center and Burkhart took strike three to end the inning. Rheal Cormier took over for Crawford in the bottom of the eighth and Jones lined out to Alexander to start. O'Leary hurt himself diving for a triple by Canizaro and had to leave the game. Frye moved to right, Gilkey went to left and Jose Offerman came in to play second as O'Leary was rushed to the local ICU. Cummings grounded out to third but Guzman singled home Canizaro to cut the lead. Lawton flied out to left to end the inning with the Twins down 8-2.
Eddie Guardado came in for the top of the ninth and Offerman singled to center to start. Gilkey banged into a double play and Varitek popped up to second to end the inning. Tim Young came in to mop up the bottom of the ninth but crapped his pants. Coomer popped up to first but Koskie was plunked. Ortiz then smashed a home run all the way to the Domican Republic to cut the lead. Moeller walked and that was it for Young. Sox closer Derek Lowe was brought in and he puked on himself as well. Moeller took second on defensive indifference and scored on the Jones single to center. Denny Hocking pinch hit for Canizaro and singled to center to put runners at the corners. Cummings grounded out to first but Jones scored and Hocking moved to second. Guzman singled home Hocking to cut the lead and swiped second. With the tying run at second base, Lowe got Lawton to ground out to second to end the game. Things got scary at the end but the Sox came away with the 8-7 win.
Hero of the Night is Paxton Crawford. The rookie earned his first ML win by allowing 1 run in 7 innings of work. He allowed just 6 hits and struck out 2.
The Good:
Brian Daubach was 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer and 4 total rbis.
Carl Everett was 1 for 3 with a walk an 2 runs scored.
Nomar Garciaparra was 2 for 4 with two 2 run homers.
Jose Offerman singled in his only at bat.
Ed Sprague was 1 for 3.
Manny Alexander scored a run as a pinch runner.
The Bad:
Morgan Burkhart was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Bernard Gilkey was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rheal Cormier allowed a run in the eighth inning.
Tim Young was charged with 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.
Derek Lowe allowed an inherited runner to score and 2 of his own in the ninth.
The Ugly:
Jeff Frye was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The Red Sox are going to be sad to leave Minnesota. They came into the series reeling and ended up scoring 44 runs to get the offense back on track. Unfortunately the pitching crapped the bed by allowing 27 runs in 4 games. The bullpen in particular has been rancid but that's going to change. Rich Garces, Lowe and Cormier are too good to be stuck in a rut for too long. The Sox are going to get Pedro Martinez back after the all-star break as well. Last night it was the role players that stepped up but tonight it was the stars. Everett, Daubach and Nomar carried the offense and it was a welcome sight to see. Crawford looked damn good in his sophomore effort without "Dizzy" Izzy Alcantara to muck things up for him. He's most likely gone when Pedro comes back but you'll see him down the road for sure. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum for a win streak heading into the break. The win improved the Sox to 42-39, 1.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home to face the NL East leading Atlanta Braves in a 3 game showdown before the All-Star break. Pete Schourek (2-7, 4.25 ERA) takes on Braves ace Tom Glavine tomorrow night at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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