Red Sox Knock Off Twins Behind Strong Bullpen Performance

The Red Sox defeated the Twins 5-1 in their penultimate game at JetBlue Park behind a strong performance from a bullpen asked to fill all nine innings.

Vicente Padilla received the first opportunity on the mound for the Red Sox, and responded with five scoreless outs. Scott Atchison followed up with seven of his own, allowing just one hit in the process before handing it off to Justin Thomas, who took the team through the end of the fifth.

Getting the start for the Twins, Carl Pavano was just as strong for the Twins, escaping a bases loaded situation in the fourth to keep the game scoreless into the sixth. There he would be gifted a 1-0 lead as the Twins finally got to Garrett Mock with a home run from Chris Parmelee to lead off the inning, and there he would give it away in dramatic fashion.

The Sox hadn't been having too much difficulty putting the bat on the ball against Pavano to that point, they just hadn't been able to push anything across until the sixth. With Kevin Youkilis getting plunked and then lifted for Pedro Ciriaco, the Sox grabbed their first run when Ciriaco stole second and third before being doubled in by Cody Ross. While Jarrod Saltalamacchia would ground out, the Sox would then pull away with a single, double, and triple from Ryan Sweeney, Mike Aviles, and Jacoby Ellsbury--who was thrown out trying to make it an inside-the-park homer--respectively.

The Sox would add a fifth run in the next inning on doubles from Adrian Gonzalez and Pedro Ciriaco, but with the pen holding on from there, they would not need it.