Pivetta got in trouble immediately in the top of the first inning as Max Kepler led off with a base hit inside the third base bag. Jorge Polanco walked but Josh Donaldson struck out swinging. Luis Arraez flied out to left and Miguel Sano grounded into a force to end the inning. Ober got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Kike Hernandez flied out to center to start. Kyle Schwarber struck out swinging and Xander Bogaerts watched strike three go by to end the inning.
The Twins struck first in the top of the second as Nick Gordon walked to start. Ryan Jeffers was hit with a pitch but Jake Cave beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Andrelton Simmons got a base hit to center to score Gordon to put Minnesota on top. Kepler got another base hit inside the bag to load the bases but Polanco flied out to left. Donaldson flied out to center to end the inning with the Twins up 1-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers walked to start. JD Martinez struck out swinging, Alex Verdugo lined out to right and Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Twins struck again in the top of the third as Arraez grounded out to first to start. Sano then hit a home run all the way to Providence, Rhode Island to increase the lead but Pivetta came back to punch out Gordon swinging. Jeffers took strike three to end the inning with Minnesota up 2-0.
The Sox once again failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Travis Shaw struck out swinging to begin. Christian Vazquez got a base hit to left before moving to second on the grounder to third by Hernandez. Schwarber singled to right to move Vazquez to third but Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
The Twins finished off Pivetta in the top of the fourth as Cave struck out swinging to start. Hernandez dropped a pop up by Simmons for a "single" and Andrelton moved to second on a grounder to short by Kepler. Polanco seemed to have iced the game with a 15,000 foot home run but Donaldson struck out swinging to end the inning. That was it for Pivetta who was hit hard again, allowing 4 runs in just 4 innings setting the stage for another long game by the bullpen.
Devers flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth and Martinez flied out to right. Verdugo singled to right but was thrown out trying to stretch a double to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Arraez grounded out to second to start. Sano struck out swinging and Gordon went down hacking to end the inning. Renfroe tried to start a rally with a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Shaw struck out swinging again. Vazquez flied out to right and Hernandez swung at air to end the inning.
The Twins beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the sixth as Jeffers grounded out to short to start. Cave grounded out to second and Simmons grounded out to first to end the inning. Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and the Sox blew another rally. Schwarber got a base hit to left and Bogaerts walked, but Devers flied out to center. Martinez flied out to right and Hernandez popped up to third to end the inning.
Davis returned briefly in the top of the seventh as Kepler lined out to right to start. Polanco struck out swinging and that was it for Davis who saved the Sox collective bacon with 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Hiro Sawamura came in and it looked like Donaldson was safe when he was ruled out at second on a double to left. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli challenged and sure enough, the call was overturned and Josh was safe. Arraez was intentionally walked but Sano forced him at second to end the inning. The Sox began their comeback against Tyler Duffey in the bottom of the seventh as Renfroe popped up to short to start. Shaw doubled to left and Vazquez got a base hit to center to score him. Hernandez singled to center to bring the tying run to the plate and chase Duffey. Caleb Theilbar came in and Vazquez moved to third on the fly ball to center by Schwarber. Bogaerts took strike three to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.
Martin Perez came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Gordon to begin. Refsnsyder lined out to left, Jeffers grounded out to short and Cave grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth although Devers struck out swinging to start. Martinez flied out to right but Verdugo got a base hit to center. Renfroe singled in the hole at second but the ball got under the glove of Polanco to score Alex all the way from first. Kevin Plawecki pinch hit for Shaw and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli countered by bringing in Kyle Barraclough to face Kevin. Plawecki was plunked to put the tying run on and Bobby Dalbec ran for him. Vazquez forced Dalbec at second to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.
Josh Taylor came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Simmons popped up to first in foul territory to begin. Kepler flied out to center and Polanco struck out swinging to end the inning. Alex Colome came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Hernandez doubled to center to start. Schwarber shocked everyone by hitting a home run to dead center to tie the game. Bogaerts got a base hit to center to put the winning run on and Devers drew a walk. Things looked good when Martinez lined out to right to move Bogaerts to third just ninety feet away. With the game on the line....Verdugo struck out swinging and Renfroe hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Hansel Robles came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Polanco starting at second base. The wheels fell off immediately as Donaldson hit a home run all the way to the Azores to put the Twins up for good. Arraez grounded out to second and Sano grounded out to short. Just one out away from keeping the game close, instead Refsnyder got a base hit to center and Jeffers was hit with a pitch. Cave then put the exclamation point on the inning with a 3 run home run all the way back to Minnesota to increase the lead.
Ralph Garza came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Renfroe at second base. Dalbec got a base hit to right but Vazquez banged into a double play for two big outs. Renfroe did score on the play and Hernandez then belted his 17th home run of the season to cut the lead, but Schwarber popped up to third to end the game. The Twins had won the game 9-6.
Twins win
Jackass Robles
Jackass of the Night is Hansel Robles. He allowed two home runs and 5 total runs in the top of the tenth.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 3 for 6 with a home run and 2 runs scored.
Kyle Schwarber was 3 for 6 with a 2 run home run.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Hunter Renfroe was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Travis Shaw was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec got a base hit in his only at-bat.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Hiro Sawamura got the final out of the seventh inning.
Kevin Plawecki was hit with a pitch in his only at-bat.
Austin Davis pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Martin Perez pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Josh Taylor pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Nick Pivetta allowed 4 runs in just 4 innings of work while allowing 6 hits.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked twice.
Final Thoughts:
What a waste of a season that started with so much promise. Take away the first three games of the season and the Sox were the dominant team in the American League until the end of June. Since then they've fallen so far off a cliff that the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays blew right by them. The Sox are running out of time to right the ship with just 34 games left in the season. Robles getting blasted after Pivetta started out awful is just a sign of how badly the pitching has faltered in the last two months. Offensively the Sox got the hits they needed to get back in the game and even tried their best in the tenth but 5 runs allowed by Robles sealed their doom. The less said of this everglades disaster the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-56, 3 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card spot. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow night when they send Chris Sale (2-0) to the mound against John Gant of the Twins. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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