The Red Sox made easy work of the Twins running away with a 6-2 win on Wednesday. To make matters worse, the Indians defeated the White Sox meaning the Twins lead in the division is back down to 5.5 games.
Starting pitcher Jose Berrios, who had an extra day of rest, had a tough time facing last year’s American League MVP Mookie Betts, who finished with two home runs, four RBI, while going 3-for-3 against him.
Betts’ first home run was on the first pitch he saw, and the second one was a three-run bomb in second inning, which was also on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Berrios was eventually pulled in the sixth inning after allowing three straight hitters to reach and was responsible for two more runs that came across. All in all, Berrios allowed eight earned runs on eight hits in five innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
Over his last six starts, Berrios has allowed 29 earned runs in 32.1 innings, which is an ERA of 8.05.
The Twins’ offense had a couple of threats in middle innings, including loading the bases in the top of the fourth, but weren’t able to scratch any runs across early on.
Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez was superb, pitching around the traffic with his defense turning two double plays behind him. Through seven innings of work, Rodriguez allowed zero runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and four walks.
Finally, Eddie Rosario was able to get his team on the board with a two-run home run in the eight inning but that was all the runs Minnesota could muster.
Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol made his second big league appearance in the bottom of the eighth, allowing a leadoff single but was able to retire the next three batters.
In the top of the ninth, Minnesota put runners at first and second with one out for Nelson Cruz, who bounced into a game-ending double play.
With the loss, the Twins fall to 86-53 and will close out their series with the Red Sox on Wednesday with first pitch at 6:10 p.m. Martin Perez will start for Minnesota.
