Snow can't cool bats in Sox's 7th straight win

As the first pitch crossed the plate at Target Field on Tuesday afternoon, the temperature was a frigid 33 degrees -- the second chilliest to start a game in Red Sox history.

But when you’re as hot as the Red Sox are, you can easily tune out the elements, including snow that fell for portions of the game.

• Box score

Backed by a pair of RBI doubles from slump-busting rookie Bobby Dalbec, the rolling Red Sox ran their winning streak to seven games by edging out the Twins, 4-2.

“That was tough today, but the guys were talking and actually [they said] the conditions felt better than the first few games at home,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “It didn’t feel that way [to me], I don’t know what they were talking about. But you have to trust them, right?”

There’s probably a reason why Tuesday felt warmer to the Sox than the games they played in Boston from April 2-4: The Fenway games were all losses and didn’t include many hits.

Winning makes the heart and the body feel warmer, it seems. The only other time in Red Sox history the team played at a colder game-time temperature was April 7, 1979, at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. They lost that day, with current NESN broadcaster Jerry Remy getting the only hit.

As for the current state of affairs, this is the first time since the championship-winning season of 2018 that Boston has put together a winning streak of seven games or more.

While this was the continuation of the most gratifying stretch the 7-3 Red Sox have had in a while, it was something much different for Dalbec, who came into the day hitting .120 with one extra-base hit and one RBI.

Perhaps the key to Dalbec turning his slow start around was the first at-bat, when he hit a 107.4-mph lineout to right.

“Yeah, you know, try to repeat [that swing], that’s a win in my book, I lined out,” Dalbec said. “I’m trying to win at-bats. Hitting the ball hard is a win for me.”

Those winning at-bats are more fun, it turns out, when the ball hits a patch of grass and then some dirt before it finds a glove.

That’s what happened in Dalbec’s next at-bat, in the fifth inning. With snow falling, Dalbec lashed a two-out double down the line in right to score Christian Arroyo from first to tie the game.

A little snow and cold? The weather didn't seem to be a problem for the Colorado native.

“Today was pretty cold,” said Dalbec. “Opening Day this season was pretty cold. A few cold games in high school, too, playing out there. But I live in Arizona now, so I’m not as acclimated to the cold weather as you’d think.”

Three innings later, the game was still tied and the snow had stopped when Dalbec put the Red Sox in front with an eerily similar double down the line in right with an exit velocity of 111.3 mph -- the hardest-hit ball of the game by either team. Arroyo again set Dalbec up with his own double.

Dalbec wore out the opposite field during his best day so far of 2021. For many slumping hitters, going the other way signifies things are turning, because it shows they are able to track the ball for longer. Dalbec puts himself in that boat.

“I think it always ends up working out that way, whether I'm trying to or not. But yeah, I would say using center to right-center, right field is kind of a good spot for me to get back in line,” said Dalbec.

Cora is all-in on what he saw from Dalbec on Tuesday.

“Like everybody else, if you control the strike zone and you control your aggression in the strike zone, you're going to see results,” Cora said. “We trust the player. We know there are going to be a few days where he might swing and miss a lot, but we do believe he can make adjustments and he can go the other way.”

It exemplified the depth of Boston's order that the No. 8-9 hitters carried the day -- at least until Rafael Devers hit a tape-measure homer to right for an insurance run in the top of the ninth. For Devers, it was his fifth homer in the last four games.

The win would not have been possible without strong pitching. Lefty starter Martín Pérez struggled in the first, allowing two runs. But he was untouched for the rest of his five-inning performance. The bullpen took it home for the final 12 outs, capped by Matt Barnes picking up his first save. The defense also played well, particularly Arroyo at second base.

At this point, the Red Sox are crisp in all facets of the game.

“That's what makes us a good team,” said Cora. “I do believe on a daily basis, regardless of who plays, we're going to be competitive offensively and we're going to be good defensively. We hit the ball hard the whole day. That's a good sign. Tough conditions. Tough pitcher on the mound. But we grinded it out and we ended up with a win.”

And suddenly, those wins are piling up for Boston.