It turns out not even Mother Nature can stop the red hot Boston Red Sox. With gametime temperature at a brisk 36 degrees with snow flurries, the Sox still managed to defeat the Minnesota Twins in what could turn out to be the coldest game of the year. The Twins jumped on Sox starter Martin Perez for 2 runs early but he and the Sox bullpen pitched shutout ball the rest of the way. Hunter Renfroe and Rafael Devers both homered but the star of the day was Bobby Dalbec who tied the game in the top of the fifth and put the Sox ahead in the eighth. Hiro Sawamura, Darwinzon Hernandez, Adam Ottavino and Matt Barnes slammed the door on the Twins and the Sox won their seventh straigh game 4-2 at Target Field.
Happ got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez led off with a ground out to third. Alex Verdugo flied out to center and JD Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. The Twins pounced on Martin Perez in the bottom of the first as Byron Buxton doubled to left to begin. Kyle Garlick was plunked and Mitch Garver walked to load the bases with nobody out. Jorge Polanco scored Buxton with a sac fly and Miguel Sano walked to re-load the bases. Luis Arraez beat out a double play ball to score a run and Willians Astudillo popped up to Xander Bogaerts in foul territory to end the inning with the Twins ahead 2-0.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second inning as Bogarts reached on a roller to third to begin. Rafael Devers walked but Christian Vazquez banged into a double play. Hunter Renfroe went down hacking to end the inning. Perez settled down in the bottom of the second as Andrelton Simmons lined out to right to start. Jake Cave hit a roller to Devers at third who dove on the ball and wrestled with it for an error to advance Jake to second. Buxton popped up to first and Garlick flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the third as Christian Arroyo flied out to right to start. Bobby Dalbec lined out to right and Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning. Garver flied out to center to start the bottom of the third but Polanco was plunked. Sano popped up to first and Arraez lined out to left to end the inning.
Verdugo grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth and Martinez grounded out to third. Bogaerts took strike three to end the inning. Astudillo popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth but Simmons singled to center. Cave forced Simmons at second but Buxton beat out an infield single to second. Garlick struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox clawed back in the top of the fifth although Devers struck out swinging to start. Vazquez flied out to right but Renfroe pounded his first home run of the year through the snow just over the glove of Buxton to cut the lead. Arroyo got a base hit to center and Dalbec doubled into the right field corner to score Christian with the tying run. That was it for Happ as Cody Stashak came in to strike out Hernandez swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Perez returned for one final inning in the bottom of the fifth and froze Garver for strike three to start. Polanco grounded out to short but Sano walked. Arraez grounded into a force to end the inning. That was it for Perez after 5 innings and 88 pitches. He had a rough first inning but battled back to toss 5 innings of 2 run ball.
Randy Dobnak came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Verdugo grounded out to short to start. Martinez flied out to right and Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Hiro Sawamura came in for the bottom of the sixth and Astudillo hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts. Xander threw the ball straight up in the air, did a backflip and caught the ball in his hat for an error. Sawamura nearly got his head taken off on a liner drive by Simmons but Arroyo turned a 6-4-3 double play to salvage the situation. Cave struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Red Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the seventh as Devers grounded out to first to start. Vazquez grounded back to the mound and Renfroe grounded out to short to end the inning. Adam Ottavino came in for the bottom of the seventh and Buxton grounded out to second to start. Max Kepler pinch hit for Garlick and walked, but Garver popped up to short. Kepler stole second but Polanco lined out to second to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the eighth as Arroyo doubled to right to start. Dalbec doubled in the exact same spot he did earlier to score Arroyo with the go-ahead run. Hernandez flied out to right but Verdugo walked. Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Darwinzon Hernandez came on for the bottom of the eighth and Sano grounded out to third to start. Arraez walked and Astudillo singled to left to put the pressure on but Hernandez got Simmons to fly out to left. Cave grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Sox got a big insurance run in the top of the ninth against Jorge Alcala. Bogaerts grounded out to third but Devers homered for the fourth straight game almost completely out of Target Field to increase the lead. Vazquez whiffed and Renfroe popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and made it look easy. Barnes blew away Buxton before Kepler lined out to left. Garver flied out to left as well to end the game. The Sox had won 7 in a row with their 4-2 victory.
Hero of the Night is Bobby Dalbec. He drove in the tying run in the fifth and the go-ahead run in the eighth to put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.
Martin Perez tossed 5 innings of 2 run ball to keep the Sox in the game.
Hiro Sawamura pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Darwinzon Hernandez tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes earned his first save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 3 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.
Final Thoughts:
After seven straight wins, there's not much to complain about anymore and that's never a bad thing. Every game somebody new steps up to be the hero and that's what you need during a full 162 game season. Renfroe and Dalbec have been quiet the first two weeks but they carried the show today. Devers hit one of the longest home runs in Minnesota history but it was the previous two that did the most damage. The pitching has been sensational and it was good to see Perez battle back from the first inning that he had. Sox manager Alex Cora rolled the dice by having Hernandez pitch the eighth and the kid got the job done. Matt Barnes has been unhittable so far this season and time will tell how long that lasts. The only thing to squawk about is the starters aren't really going deep into games but as soon as the weather improves, that will probably change. It was 36 degrees and snowy out, don't want to get somebody hurt in those conditions. Once again the Sox main difference between this year and the previous two is the ability to come back in games. Even the 2019 Sox with Mookie Betts usually packed it in if they were behind. Not this year's team. Due to the postponement of last night's game, tomorrow has now turned into a day-night, 7 inning doubleheader. Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 1.46 ERA) goes for the Sox in Game 1 against Kenta Maeda of the Twins. The game begins at 2:10 PM at Target Field.
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