The Sox ambushed Blackburn in the top of the first as Mike Aviles doubled to center to start. Ryan Sweeney singled up the middle to score Aviles but Dustin Pedroia forced him at second. Adrian Gonzalez singled to right to move Pedroia to third and David Ortiz scored Dustin with a base hit to left. Kevin Youkilis dropped a base hit to right to load the bases and Gonzalez scored on the Cody Ross grounder to first. Marlon Byrd grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
The Twins wasted no time getting to Beckett in the bottom of the first as Denard Span drilled a base hit to center to start. Jamey Carroll forced Span at second and Joe Mauer walked. Josh Willingham walked to load the bases and Justin Morneau walked to score Carroll. Beckett recovered to strike out Ryan Doumit swinging but felt he was getting squeezed. Danny Valencia grounded out to third to end the inning and Beckett started screaming at home plate umpire Adrian Johnson who screamed back. All this mayhem had the Twins down 3-1.
Kelly Shoppach doubled off the right field wall to start the top of the second and Aviles dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Kelly to third. Unfortunately Sweeney grounded out to second and Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning. Chris Parmalee struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Trevor Plouffe grounded out to third. Span grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the third as Gonzalez walked to start. Ortiz clubbed his third home run of the season to increase the lead but Youkilis struck out swinging. Ross flied out to the left field warning track but Byrd ripped a base hit to left. Shoppach struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.
Carroll grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third but Mauer singled to center. Willingham doubled to right but Morneau hit a liner to short. Doumit popped up to Byrd to end the inning.
Matt Maloney came in to pitch the top of the fourth and Aviles greeted him with his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Sweeney doubled to the centerfield wall but Pedroia grounded out to short. Gonzalez got a base hit to right to score Sweeney but Ortiz forced Adrian at second. Youkilis got a base hit to left but Ross struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Beckett cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Valencia grounded out to third to start. Parmalee flied out to center and Byrd made a running catch to rob Plouffe of a double to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the fifth as Byrd singled to center to start. Shoppach struck out swinging but Aviles hit a double that got caught under the centerfield wall to score Byrd. Sweeney struck out swinging but Pedroia doubled off the right field scoreboard to score Aviles. Gonzalez doubled to left to score Pedroia and chase Maloney. Jeff Gray came in and Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-1.
Span blooped a double into center to start the bottom of the fifth but got caught in a rundown on a grounder to the mound by Carroll. Mauer flied out to center but Willingham doubled to left to score Carroll to cut the lead. Morneau flied out to left to end the inning with the Twins down 10-2.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth inning as Youkilis flied out to right to start. Ross struck out swinging and Byrd grounded out to short to end the inning. Beckett returned for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth and Doumit took strike three to start. Valencia and Parmalee both struck out swinging to end the inning. Beckett tossed 6 solid innings, survived early squeezing and held the Twins to two runs.
Shoppach struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Aviles also went down hacking. Sweeney flied out to center to end the inning. Scott Atchison came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Plouffe flied out to right to start. Span took strike three and Carroll grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the eighth with Alex Burnett now on the mound. Pedroia flied out to right and Lars Anderson pinch hit for Gonzalez. Anderson got a base hit to left and Ortiz drew a walk. Nick Punto pinch hit for Youkilis and walked to load the bases. Darnell McDonald pinch hit for Ross and beat out a double play ball to score Anderson. Byrd grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-2.
Atchison returned for the bottom of the eighth and Mauer took strike three to start. Clete Thomas pinch hit for Willingham and struck out swinging while Morneau grounded out to first to end the inning.
Shoppach grounded out to third to start the top of the ninth but Aviles got a base hit to left. Sweeney forced Aviles at second and Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning. Matt Albers came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Doumit grounded out to second to start. Sean Burroughs pinch hit for Valencia and doubled to right but Parmalee flied out to left. Plouffe popped up to McDonald to end the game. The Sox had won it 11-2.
Hero of the Night is David Ortiz. He outscored the Twins by himself by driving in three runs including a 2 run homer.
The Good:
Mike Aviles was 4 for 5 with a two run home run and 3 total runs scored.
Ryan Sweeney was 2 for 6 with an rbi and a run scored.
Adrian Gonzalez was 3 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and two runs scored.
Lars Anderson singled and scored.
Kevin Youkilis was 2 for 4.
Nick Punto walked as a pinch hitter.
Darnell McDonald drove in a run in his only at-bat.
Marlon Byrd was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Josh Beckett earned the win by tossing 6 innings and allowing just the two runs. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 5.
Scott Atchison pitched two scoreless innings.
Matt Albers pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 6 but drove in a run and scored twice.
Cody Ross was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Kelly Shoppach was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Looks like the New York Yankees woke up the Red Sox as they've scored 17 runs against the Twins so far. The Sox are flexing their offensive muscle and the addition of Marlon Byrd is paying off already. Instead of having the black hole of Nate Spears/Jason Repko, Byrd is a threat to get on base to give the Sox a deadly 1-9 when everyone's healthy and hitting. Youkilis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are beginning to come around too and that's bad news for the rest of the league. Pitching wise Beckett looked good although he was definitely squeezed early. It was encouraging to see Atchison and Albers do well out of the bullpen, especially Albers after that disaster on Saturday. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can keep up the momentum to have a good rest of the month. The Sox look for the series sweep tomorrow night against the Twins when Clay Buchholz (1-1) gets the ball against Liam Hendriks of Minnesota. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Target Field.
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