The Twins got to Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield early and stayed ahead in a 9-8 win over Boston. Craig Monroe led the hitting that started a 5 run barrage in the 2nd and didn’t stop there.
Craig Monroe had a pair of home runs, a 3 run blast in the 2nd off Wakefield and a solo shot off of Mike Timlin in the 7th that put the Twins ahead for good. The other runs in the 5 run 2nd came off the bat of the defensively minded Adam Everett, for a 2 run homer, his 1st of the season. The next inning Mike Lamb hit a 2 RBI single to score Justin Morneau and Delmon Young. In the 4th, Monroe reached on an error that allowed Joe Mauer to score. Carlos Gomez continued to display his speed on the base paths, picking up his 16th stolen base of the season.
Nick Blackburn got the win in a start that had some good spots and some bad spots. He did pitch 6 innings and fanned 5, but gave up 4 runs on 9 hits and a walk. Matt Guerrier nearly made it out of the 7th, but gave up a 2 run homer to Coco Crisp. Dennys Reyes pitched a scoreless 8th to maintain his ERA of 0. Joe Nathan, who has been rock solid in the 9th for Twins, gave up 2 runs but still managed to get his 12th save of the season.
The Twins were able to put up a large number of runs against the Red Sox, but also allowed a large number of runs to them. It was a game with mixed results that has happened a few times this season. On the positive side, the team got power from Monroe and Everett, outside of the usual suspects. Also, The offense was spread over just about every hitter, and a balanced attack will be the key to success for the Twins.
