Boston, MA – Trevor Plouffe, Justin Morneau and Pedro Florimon each had three RBI, while Ryan Doumit and Aaron Hicks drove in a pair of runs apiece as the Minnesota Twins outslugged the Boston Red Sox, 15-8, in the third installment of a four-game set at Fenway Park.
Plouffe had three hits and also scored two runs and Florimon homered and doubled. Ryan Doumit added three hits, including a two-run homer, and scored three runs and Joe Mauer had a pair of doubles and scored three times for the Twins, winners in three of their last four.
"So many guys up and down the lineup hit the ball," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Florimon had a really good night, and Mauer and a whole of bunch of other guys obviously with that many runs. So it was a good win for us."
Ryan Pressly (1-0) earned his first career win after tossing four scoreless innings of relief. Starter Pedro Hernandez gave up six runs on seven hits over just two innings of work.
Jonny Gomes went 1-for-4 with a grand slam and five RBI and Shane Victorino added a pair of hits, including a solo homer, for the Red Sox, who have dropped five of their last six games.
Allen Webster (0-1) started in place of left-hander Felix Doubront, who was moved to Boston's depleted bullpen. Webster was hammered for eight runs on six hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
"A tough night from the mound tonight. A number of pitches found their way to the middle of the plate," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They swung aggressively, they hit a number of fastballs that didn't get to the intended location."
David Ortiz's 27-game hitting streak came to an end after he went 0-for-5.
The fireworks started immediately with the Twins plating four runs in the first. With runners on first and second, Morneau smacked a ground-rule double to right field to score Mauer. Plouffe followed with a sacrifice fly to push Josh Willingham across, and Doumit's two-run shot gave the Twins a 4-0 edge.
Minnesota's lead would be short-lived, though, as the Red Sox scored five runs in the home half. After Mike Napoli drew a two-out walk to load the bases, Gomes clobbered a grand slam over the Green Monster. Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a double then scored on a Stephen Drew base hit to right field.
The Twins continued to pour it on in the second, pushing seven runs across to take an 11-5 lead. Florimon led off with a homer. After Jamey Carroll walked and Mauer doubled to put runners on second and third, Morneau lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Carroll. Plouffe followed with an RBI double, and Aaron Hicks added a two-run single later in the frame. Florimon's two-run double capped the scoring for the inning.
Victorino's solo blast in the third made it 11-6, but the Twins scored another run in the fourth on Florimon's groundout.
Minnesota added two more in the fifth inning. Plouffe singled home Mauer then scored on an Oswaldo Arcia double to center field.
Gomes and Daniel Nava added a sacrifice fly in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to make it 14-8. Morneau's sacrifice fly in the ninth accounted for the final difference.
Game Notes
Minnesota went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position ... Arcia went 4- for-5 ... The Twins out hit the Red Sox 20-12 ... Earlier on Wednesday, Boston named Junichi Tazawa the team's closer, with relievers Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey on the disabled list. Hanrahan was put on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain.
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