Sept. 21—After taking the lead in the American League wild-card round with a series-opening win, the Minnesota Twins will be looking for another victory Saturday against the host Boston Red Sox.
Minnesota (81-73) won 4-2 on Friday with a three-run breakthrough in the 12th inning and now right-hander Pablo Lopez will have a chance to win the series.
A day after allowing 13 hits against the Red Sox, the Twins allowed three hits in 10 innings of a 3–2 loss to Cleveland. Minnesota’s top five hitters all got two hits and the Twins moved one game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for an AL playoff berth.
“We have the last eight games left and that’s really important, so it’s definitely a big win,” Twins shortstop Carlos Correa said.
Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner had RBI singles in the 12th inning, followed by Twins starter David Festa on the mound. Eight pitchers combined to give up five hits and one unearned run in seven innings.
The Twins have confidence in Lopez, who has made seven consecutive quality starts since an Aug. 6 loss to the Chicago Cubs and is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA.
Lopez (15-8, 3.84 ERA) has won four consecutive starts before Monday’s road trip to Cleveland. He pitched 6 1/3 innings in the Twins’ 4-3 loss, striking out four, allowing two runs on eight hits and walking two.
“He was pitching really well until (Game 7),” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Lopez. “The leadoff walk, that’s not like him.”
Lopez is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox, including a May 4 win when he pitched six innings and allowed one run while striking out eight in the same time period.
There was no good news for Boston (76-78) in the series opener, with the differential below .500 for both games for the first time since May 18.
The Red Sox haven’t scored more than three runs in five consecutive games, but shortstop Trevor Story is 9-for-24 (.375).
“The whole chasing-hits approach isn’t working,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “I think controlling the strike zone, finding pitches in certain areas is the right thing to do. … That’s what I want. But it hasn’t happened yet.”
Not only did the Red Sox set a franchise record with 20 strikeouts and go 1 for 19, but star third baseman Rafael Devers was ruled out early with a sore right shoulder.
Devers is expected to undergo an MRI on Saturday.
“That might be where he ends up (this season),” Cora said.
The Red Sox will look to right-hander Curt Crawford (8-15, 4.19 ERA) to help snap a losing streak that has lasted more than a month.
Crawford is 0-6 with a 4.28 ERA in his last six starts, though he pitched at least six innings in three consecutive starts before losing to the Yankees on Sunday. In New York, he allowed four runs on six hits in a 4 1/3 game, striking out seven and walking two, allowing home runs to Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge.
“I didn’t throw the ball when I needed to,” Crawford said. “Obviously, you can’t throw a 92-mph fastball to Judge. I didn’t do my job (Sunday).”
Home run balls have always been a back-breaker for Crawford. He has given up five runs in his last three starts and leads the league with 33 runs this season.
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