John Lackey took the mound and had one of his best outings in a Sox uniform. Unfortunately it would be cut short due to a rain delay, but he'd still pitch long and well enough to get himself and the team a nice win.
Lackey pitched 4 perfect innings before giving up his first hit. At that point, the offense had already given Lackey a 3-0 lead. Middlebrooks hit a solo HR in the 2nd inning, Pedey reached on what should have been a DP ball and a run scored in the 3rd and then Napoli hit an RBI single in the 5th. Lackey gave up a leadoff double as his first hit to Plouffe in the 5th inning. Lackey got a ground ball that should have been an inning ending double play, but Ciriaco air mailed the throw to 1st base and actually hit Parmalee with the ball. Plouffe scored on the play, but the run was unearned for Lackey. Sox 3-1. Lackey kept rolling right up until the 7th inning when the earth opened up and it began pouring.
The tarp was called and we were in a rain delay. The delay is one of the longest that I can ever remember. The delay lasted exactly 3 hours and then the tarp was off and we were playing baseball again. There were only a couple hundred fans who waited out the delay, so it was a strange sight at Target Field. Andrew Miller took the mound in the 7th and had himself a nice 1-2-3 inning. In the 8th, Koji Uehara took the mound and almost gave us all a heart attack. Uehara gave up a double, a walk and a single to have the bases loaded. With 2 outs, Joe Mauer came to the plate and we were all collectively holding out breath. Uehara ended up getting Mauer to strikeout and got out of the inning. Phew. In the top of the 9th, Pedey gave the team some breathing room when he hit a 2 run HR that bounced off Willingham's glove and hopped out of the park. Sox 5-1. Tazawa came in for the 9th and gave up two singles before getting the next 3 batters in order.
The Sox swept the Twins and as of right now are only a half game back from the Yankees who are leading the AL East.
Red Sox 5 Twins 1 BOXSCORE
WP: Lackey (2-4) LP: Hernandez (2-1)
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