Ceddanne Rafaela and Rafael Devers each hit two-run home runs, and the Boston Red Sox pulled away for a 9-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Vaughn Grissom and Dominic Smith added two-run doubles for Boston, which avoided a three-game sweep in the series finale. Rob Refsnyder added an RBI double.
Ryan Jeffers hit a solo home run for Minnesota, whose 12-game winning streak ended. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Twins lost for the first time since April 21 at home against the Detroit Tigers. The 12-game winning streak was Minnesota’s longest since a franchise-best 15-game streak in 1991.
Red Sox left-hander Brennan Bernardino (1-1) earned the win out of the bullpen after recording the final two outs of the fifth inning. Bernardino followed starter Cooper Criswell, who allowed one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (1-2) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Minnesota opened the scoring in the bottom of the third. Jeffers hit a solo shot to left-center field for his sixth homer of the season.
The Red Sox evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth. Jarren Duran hit a leadoff double, advanced to third base on a groundout and scored moments later on a double by Refsnyder.
In the fifth, Boston pulled ahead 3-1. Rafaela hit a 398-foot shot to left-center field for his third homer.
The Red Sox broke the game open with four runs in the eighth.
Grissom notched his first hit with Boston when he ripped a double to center field to drive in Devers and Tyler O’Neill. The Red Sox acquired Grissom from the Atlanta Braves during the offseason but he started the season on the injured list and did not make his team debut until Saturday.
Moments after Grissom’s first hit, Smith belted a two-run double to left field. Smith’s hit scored Wilyer Abreu and Grissom.
Larnach hit a run-scoring single for the Twins in the bottom of the eighth.
Devers finished the scoring with a two-run shot in the top of the ninth.
–Field Level Media
