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4 takeaways from the Red Sox’ 8-1 win over the Twins
Boston's bats were mostly quiet until their six-run eighth inning.
The Red Sox moved above .500 for the first time in the young 2022 season on Sunday, beating the Twins 8-2 to improve to 5-4 on the year.
The Patriots’ Day eve game got off to a slow start before runs came in at the end. Here are four takeaways before the Red Sox and Twins get up for an early start on Monday.
The big picture.
Both starting pitchers performed well on Sunday. Red Sox starter Michael Wacha pitched five scoreless innings and Twins starter Bailey Ober threw five scoreless innings to start as well.
But the Red Sox were able to get things going at the plate in the sixth, with a little help from the Twins. Rafael Devers hit a line drive right at first baseman Miguel Sano, but Sano wasn’t able to make the grab and the ball ricocheted off his glove, allowing Devers to reach first safely. Xander Bogaerts doubled in the ensuing at-bat, placing runners in scoring position with no outs. J.D. Martinez hit a sac fly to center to score Devers and Alex Verdugo did the same to score Bogaerts, giving Boston a 2-0 lead.
The Twins were able to get a run back in the following frame though. Matt Strahm, who replaced Wacha in the sixth, gave up a single to Max Kepler with one out. Ryan Brasier, who entered the game for Strahm, allowed a single to Gio Urshela to put runners at the corners with one out. Trevor Larnach hit a sac fly to score Kepler and the Twins threatened to tie the game when Gary Sanchez singled and Sano walked to load the bases. But the Twins weren’t able to tie the game as Brasier struck out Kyle Garlick to end the inning.
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The Red Sox added some insurance runs in the eighth. Singles by Kiké Hernández and Devers placed runners at the corners with no outs. Bogaerts knocked Hernández when Sano couldn’t handle Bogaerts’s soft grounder. Martinez scored Devers when he hit a double off the Monster in left-center. Trevor Story knocked both Bogaerts and Martinez in and Jackie Bradley Jr.’s single scored Story. Kevin Plawecki added the final run of the day, scoring Bobby Dalbec from third on a sacrifice fly to give the Red Sox an 8-1 lead.
Austin Davis retired the Twins in order in the ninth to secure the victory for the Red Sox.
Player of the game.
Michael Wacha: Five innings pitched, one hit, zero runs, two walks, five strikeouts.
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For the second straight day, the Red Sox’ starting pitcher threw at least five innings of scoreless ball.
Wacha was in command from the start, retiring the first seven Twins hitters he faced. He allowed a walk in the third, but retired the next two hitters and gave up another walk in the fourth, which was nullified by a double play.
Wacha actually held the Twins hitless into the fifth. He gave up his first hit of the day though at the start of that inning when Gio Urshela singled. Wacha got the next three Twins hitters out though, ending his day.
Wacha’s been the best surprise for the Red Sox in the young season. Through two starts, Wacha’s allowed just one run on three hits, five walks, and six strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings pitched. With Chris Sale out to start the season, the Red Sox’ rotation was filled with question marks after Nathan Eovaldi. Wacha bringing stability so far is certainly a positive development.
What it means.
The Red Sox continue to perform well against AL Central teams, which they should be doing. They’re 4-2 now after they took two out of three in Detroit earlier in the week. Beating teams outside of the division is a must for the Red Sox in order to stay in what’s expected to be a loaded battle for the AL East title.
Takeaways
1. Xander Bogaerts looks like he’s found his groove at the plate. He followed up hitting his first homer of the season on Saturday by going 3-for-4 on Sunday.
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Bogaerts’s double in the second was a game-changer. He connected with Ober’s slider, which had a 111.2 mph exit velocity and could’ve been a home run at many other ballparks.
His RBI infield single in the eighth wasn’t the most impressive hit, as he softly hit a grounder to the right side. But Bogaerts was able to work Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar after going down 0-2 in the count, showing composure before getting an insurance run on the board.
“Yeah, I mean, you’ve just got to understand the type of player you are — have a lot of confidence in yourself, have a lot of faith that things will turn around,” Bogaerts told NESN’s Jahmai Webster. “Sometimes, we just want it to be on our time. But that isn’t how it’s always going to go. Be patient, but keep working. Don’t ever stop working. Continue finding the problem and enjoy the game in the end.”
2. Bogaerts’s RBI single was just one of seven hits for the Red Sox in the eighth inning. Kiké Hernández, who’s hitting just .184 on the year, was able to get the frame started with a hard-hit single to center. Devers, who’s been one of the two consistent hitters in the Sox’ lineup through nine games, hit a single in the next at-bat.
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Martinez got a nice curveball in the heart of the plate to hit one off the monster for his fourth double of the season. Story, who’s had his struggles too, knocked in his second and third RBIs on the season later in the inning.
Boston ended up scoring six runs in the inning, matching the number of runs it scored in the first two of the series.
“One through nine, we’re definitely up there with one of the best lineups in the game,” Bogaerts said. “It was just a matter of time. A lot of guys were hitting the ball hard. We ran into some tough pitching. Guys located the ball well. Our game plan has been well, sometimes you run into some bad luck. But today showed what the offense is capable of.”
Entering the season, the Red Sox lineup was definitely thought to be the team’s biggest strength. The eighth inning barrage, which matched the six-run fourth inning against the Tigers on Wednesday for the most this season, showed that the Red Sox can still generate runs by putting together base hits — something they struggled with in the young season.
3. A day after Garrett Whitlock put up a strong outing out of the bullpen, Jake Diekman took his turn on Sunday to do the same. Red Sox manager called on the lefty to enter the game in the eighth, up just a run and the top of the Twins’ lineup due to come up.
Diekman wasn’t as precise as Whitlock (throwing 21 pitches in one inning to Whitlock’s 30 pitches in 2 1/3 innings) but he did the job. He got Luis Arraez to ground out after an eight-pitch at-bat before striking out righty Carlos Correa and switch-hitter Jorge Polanco. Diekman got both of them to whiff at sliders low in the zone after long at-bats, too.
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After giving up a hit with runners on in Wednesday’s game, Diekman’s performance on Sunday matched the one he put up in last Sunday’s win over the Yankees – where he struck out the heart of the Yankees’ lineup in order to earn the save. In days that Whitlock isn’t available, Diekman appears to be the clear choice for the Red Sox to use in high-leverage situations out of the bullpen.
4. After it was reported earlier Sunday that starter Tanner Houck wouldn’t be able to join the team on its trip to Toronto later in April due to his vaccination status, Cora shared there are more unvaccinated players on the Red Sox who are in the same boat.
With that in mind, the Red Sox might have to juggle things around for the next week before they play their road series against the Blue Jays, which runs from April 25-28. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier speculated that Garrett Whitlock, who pitched a day earlier than expected on Saturday, could replace Houck in the rotation in that series.
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