Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox is in the books after the Twins raced out to a 6-0 lead, then held on to win 6-5 Tuesday night before 35,000 at Fenway Park.
The Twins went with an opener, calling on reliever Randy Dobnak to tee up primary pitcher, Lewis Thorpe, the lefty from Australia. Dobnak pitched a scoreless first, Thorpe did just enough over three-plus innings to get the win and the bullpen, despite surrendering two home runs, held the line.
Trevor May served up a home run to Red Sox third baseman, Rafael Devers, and ace lefty Taylor Rogers gave up a solo shot in bottom of the eighth. But in the ninth, Rogers struck out Devers on three pitches for his 23rd save.
Jake Cave tripled, Nelson Cruz hit a solo shot to center field and Miguel Sano followed him with a two-run, 452-foot home run that landed somewhere above the center field bleachers. Watch the video. You can also hear Boston fans react in amazement. I love it when that happens.
Best of all? Cleveland is limping to the finish line after they lost 6-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The Twins now lead the American League Central by 6.5 games.
Jose Berrios gets the ball Wednesday. He’ll face 16-game winner, Eduardo Rodriguez.
Extra innings…
-I watched the MLB.com highlights of this game and it was great to hear Bob Costas in the booth. He’s a good reminder to young broadcasters that you don’t need to fill every second of the game with pointless chatter. In other words, there’s no need to overdo it. Describe the action on the field, tell the occasional anecdote and have a good understanding of your own sense of pace and timing. Bob does that better than anyone: his transitions seem natural and effortless.
-I predicted that the Twins would win only one game at Boston (see Sept. 3 post), but I sure hope they do better than that.
-The Twins are 47-23 on the road.