Multiple heroes lift red-hot Red Sox to 5th straight win

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Sunday day-night doubleheader against the Yankees followed by a late-night flight to Minneapolis left the chance for the Red Sox to be a little weary as they arrived at Target Field for Monday night’s opener of a four-game series.

Perhaps winning erases fatigue. The Red Sox are back in a groove after escaping an 11-19 lull that went from May 12-June 13.

Tired or not, the Sox rolled to their fifth straight victory on Monday, downing the Twins, 9-3, for Alex Cora’s 400th victory as manager.

Here were three ingredients that keyed the win that put Boston just 1 1/2 games back in the American League Wild Card standings.

Verdugo’s latest heroics against Twins
Just about every player has one team that he just torments. For Red Sox right fielder Alex Verdugo, that team is the Twins.

Perhaps the key at-bat of this game was in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded and two outs and Verdugo coming to the plate against Twins lefty reliever Jovani Moran. In the bottom of the fifth, Boston’s three-run lead had disappeared on one swing – Christian Vázquez’s first home run of 2023.

But Verdugo took away Vázquez’s chance to talk trash to his former team when he belted an 0-2 changeup into the corner in right for a bases-clearing triple that opened up a 6-3 lead.

Verdugo added insurance with an RBI single in the eighth. For the left-handed hitter, it was par for the course against the Twins. In 80 career plate appearances against Minnesota, Verdugo has a slash line of .394/.450/.690 with seven doubles, one triple, four homers and 21 RBIs.

“I don't really pay too much attention to that,” Verdugo said. “Some teams, you just hit better against, but I wasn't really too aware of it. I just know that when I come out here, I want to play well.”

Duran’s eventful night
While the rest of the bats were quiet early, Jarren Duran stood out. It didn’t seem like it would be a particularly special night for him when he broke his bat into several pieces while fouling off the first pitch of the ballgame. On the next pitch, he turned a single into a double with pure hustle. It was one of three doubles he had on the night.

“I hit it pretty hard,” said Duran. “And I kind of did the same kind of thing in New York where it was just kind of in the gap where I thought I could take [second]. [Kyle Hudson], our first-base coach, we always talk about putting the pressure on.”

In his second at-bat, Duran again doubled, helping to set up his team’s first run. And he broke another bat. Contrary to the unofficial stats on NESN, Duran broke two bats in the game, not four.

“Yeah, my dad texted me and said, ‘You broke four bats.’ I was like, ‘No, I only broke two,’ so I don’t know where the announcers were getting four from,” said Duran. “[Justin Turner] is supplying the wood right now, so I have to buy him some gifts for that.”

Turner provided comedy for the entire dugout after that second busted piece of wood.

“Every time I broke a bat, it was like I was going to my disappointed father anytime I’d look in the dugout,” said Duran. “After the second one, he was standing on the end of the railway holding his whole bat bag, like, shaking it at me, and I was on second base.”’

Duran’s third double was the big one, a two-run knock with two outs in the fourth that opened Boston’s lead to 3-0.

Paxton stands out again
Lefty James Paxton continues to be a big storyline for the Red Sox in his comeback after not pitching for two full seasons.

Though Paxton did have the one blemish on the homer by Vázquez, he was again outstanding. Over 6 1/3 innings, Paxton (3-1, 3.29 ERA) allowed three hits and three runs while walking one and striking out seven. Paxton has yielded three runs or fewer in six of his seven starts.

With Chris Sale out indefinitely after suffering a stress reaction in his left shoulder on June 1 and Tanner Houck on the injured list for an unspecified amount of time after suffering a facial fracture, Paxton’s importance is huge at this point of the season.

“It’s huge,” said Cora. “We've been seeing this for the last month. It’s six, seven innings. He’s a horse. He’s a big kid that can do that. You know, obviously we have to take care of him. He’s an important part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”