Red Sox 8, Twins 15: Dominated

The Minnesota twins trounced the Red Sox 15-8 Wednesday night in a game that saw two Boston starters knocked around.

This game is a story that does not deserve to be told. At least not from Boston's point of view. Still, due diligence demands that at least the first two innings are mentioned, as those were the only ones that really mattered.

Allen Webster's first at bat of the night was entirely encouraging. After getting two mid-90s fastballs across for strikes, Webster dropped a changeup on Jamey Carroll for the strikeout. And that was the last we'd see of the effective Webster. Eight of his next ten pitches would go for balls, and then the hits started coming. With Webster just trying to get it over, the Twins pounded the ball into the wall in left and over the fence in right. By the time the lengthy top-half of the first was over, the score was 4-0.

Often enough, that would've been the end of any real interest in the game. But at least for one inning, the Red Sox would put up a fight and then some. A bunt single from Shane Victorino, wall ball from Dustin Pedroia, and Mike Napoli walk would load the bases for Jonny Gomes with two outs. Gomes took the first pitch he saw for a ball, then crushed the second into the night beyond the Monster, knotting things up with a grand slam. The Sox would even take the lead when Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew followed up with a double and single respectively.

And then Webster came back out, and gave up the game. The first batter of the second inning would connect for a solo shot to make it 5-5. Miller would only get two outs before finally being yanked with two more runs in and Trevor Plouffe on second. That brought in the man whose place Webster took: Felix Doubront. Apparently seeing Webster's disaster night as a challenge, Doubront proceeded to allow four straight baserunners. Before Pedro Ciriaco even came to bat for the first time that night in the bottom of the second, the score stood at 11-5.

This time, however, there would be no dramatic response. The Red Sox managed to scrape together a few more runs before the night came to an end, but never came close to really making it a game, with the Twins adding more of their own. there was only one wound left to inflict, with David Ortiz' hitting streak coming to an end with a strikeout in the ninth. But by the time there were three outs in the inning, Sox fans were just happy to have it finally, finally over.

Read more Red Sox:

• Stephen Drew gets his revenge on the Twins
• Should Allen Webster replace Felix Doubront?
• John Hirschbeck and the league’s growing umpire problem
• Is Anthony Ranaudo a top prospect again?
• Could the Red Sox pursue a trade for Cliff Lee?