Twins 6, Red Sox 5: Three-Phase Clutchness Gives Twins First Sweep at Fenway Since 1994

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 5+ IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (82 Pitches, 59 Strikes, 71.9%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (0.32), Travis Adams (0.21), Yoendrys Gómez (0.16)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

Winners of five of their past six games and four of their past five series, the Twins are somehow a playoff team, were the season to end today. They have taken the first two games at Fenway Park and sought the sweep, with Bailey Ober taking the mound against working-class hero Sonny Gray.

The Twins made Gray work after he retired the first two batters. Trevor Larnach worked the count to 3-2 before getting hit on the foot by a curveball. Josh Bell then walked, before Kody Clemens roped a single into right field to put the Twins on the board first. That would be the end of the damage, but Gray was forced to throw 29 pitches.

Meanwhile, Ober looked better than his previous outing, in which he stayed poised but lacked command in his five innings against the Brewers last Sunday. His changeup looked sharp, and he breezed through the first inning.

He breezed through the second, as well, except for Masataka Yoshida golfing out a 1-2 change 393 feet to tie the game. There was a steady drizzle during the game, and Ober's command would wobble increasingly as the game progressed.

No matter, as the Twins began the third with four consecutive hits, jump-started by a Brooks Lee double. It could have really unraveled for Gray, but Victor Caratini grounded into a double play with no outs and the bases loaded. The play resulted in the Twins' third run, but took some wind out of their sails.

Maybe that affected Ober, who started leaking a little arm-side in the fourth. He allowed a ringing double from Wilyer Abreu off the green monster in left, a moonshot from Willson Contreras to tie the game, and then another double off the monster from Yoshida.

Ober rebounded to retire the next two hitters, but Marcelo Mayer smashed a hard ground ball down the line (just past the outstretched glove of Clemens at first), and the Red Sox took the lead.

The Twins would answer in the sixth. Ryan Kreidler singled with two outs and Orlando Arcia on first, prompting Boston to go to their relief ace, Garrett Whitlock. Austin Martin then laced a hanging slider into the left field corner, scoring Arcia. Lee flipped a single the opposite way, scoring Kreidler, with Martin scoring as well when catcher Carlos Narvaez dropped the relay throw. 6-4 Twins.

Anthony Banda and Eric Orze pitched effectively in getting the Twins through innings six and seven, allowing zero baserunners while throwing just 10 pitches each.

Arcia delivered his third hit of the game, a double, to lead off the eighth inning. The Twins would squander the opportunity, with Martin striking out with Arcia on third and one out and Lee flying out to end the frame.

Taylor Rogers was brought on for the eighth and was greeted with a perfect bunt single up the first base line from Jarren Duran. It was certainly hold-on-to-your-butts time, and even more so when Ceddanne Rafaela launched a line drive over a shallow Martin in right field. But Martin made an over-the-shoulder catch that evoked Willie Mays comparisons from the broadcast (not from me, Mays would have taken a much better route). Abreu then hit a ball off the green monster to put runners on second and third with one out. Rogers was done at that point (and good riddance), and new relief star Yoendrys Gomez was brought in to face the hot-hitting Contreras with the game on the line. He struck out Contreras on a nasty sweeper, and got Yoshida to pop out to right on the first pitch.

It wouldn't be pretty in the ninth, Nick Sogard led off with a triple to the gap in right center, and catcher Narváez walked. Gomez threw a great slider to strike out Mayer, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa launched a fly ball he thought was out of the park. It hit the monster, but pinch-runner Connor Wong wasn't running hard the entire way, and the relay throw from Kreidler nabbed Wong at home for the second out. It brought to mind this play at Fenway Park from 2019.

The job was not done. Gomez slipped on the mound and balked IKF to third. He then hit Duran with a pitch that, had he not hit him, would have been a wild pitch that scored the tying run. Gómez was lifted for Travis Adams, who got Rafaela to fly to Martin yet again to seal the win.

Stuff I'm Tracking:

-Today's lineup featured no Byron Buxton, no Luke Keaschall, no Ryan Jeffers, no Royce Lewis and no Matt Wallner. Ask a Twins fan circa March 2026 and ask how that would go. But today, it resulted in six runs on 12 hits. Some better situational hitting, and they could have scored several more.

-Anthony Banda has been a little better in May after looking rough in his first month with the Twins. He has six straight scoreless appearances, his walks are down, and his strikeouts are up. His settling into being a functional seventh-inning guy would do wonders for the state of this thin but currently overperforming bullpen.

-Caratini looks lost at the plate, taking strikes, swinging at balls, and only putting something in play when it's on the ground and could result in a double play (seemingly). And we have him for next year, too!

What’s Next: The Twins travel to Chicago to begin a four-game set against the White Sox as Zebby Matthews (1-1, 1.38 ERA) takes on lefty Anthony Kay (3-1, 4.27 ERA). The White Sox have been better this year, led by rookie Munetaka Murakami (17 HR, .922 OPS) and second year shortstop Colson Montgomery (13 HR, .797 OPS). Their pitching has held up, led by Davis Martin who has seven wins and a 2.04 ERA.

Postgame Interviews: Coming soon

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Gómez	36	0	13	0	22	71
Rojas	0	0	0	45	0	45
Morris	10	0	0	32	0	42
Adams	0	0	29	0	1	30
Banda	0	0	14	0	10	24
Orze	0	0	14	0	10	24
Rogers	0	0	0	6	13	19
Woods Richardson	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[jkcarew]

Exciting to see the club win some close games. The boys look like they’re having fun.

And Martin is just a baseball player. On a really good club he isn’t close to being the most talented player, at anything. Not baserunning, not hitting, not fielding. Probably not a starter, at least at any one position. But he’s gonna find a way to beat you if given some chances. Nick Punto with the benefit of more talent than Nick had.

[CharlieDee]

This series was fun to watch. Love the effort and hustle!  Win Twins!!

[mikelink45]

I am worried about Caratini - this is not the man I want replacing Jeffers.

I am also worried about Ober - his last two outings have not been great - I hope he regains his early season form. 

What fascinating me is that all of us - yes me - wanted all the prospects and it is the pickup team of Arcia, Gray and Kriedler that has been carrying the water for the team.  On the other hand I still am not pleased with Outman.  

Somehow Larnach has found his mojo.  Good for him. 

Fascinating year. 

[D.C Twins]

Addition by subtraction.

Removing Wallner and Lewis poor defense and prolific strikeouts makes a big difference!

[Parfigliano]

9 minutes ago, D.C Twins said:

Addition by subtraction.

Removing Wallner and Lewis poor defense and prolific strikeouts makes a big difference!

The team did go up when they went down.

[IndianaTwin]

"Anthony Banda has been a little better excellent in May after looking rough in his first month an eight-day stretch in April with the Twins...." 

 

I fixed this sentence. Banda gave up nine runs in an eight-day period in April. Aside from that, his ERA is 2.79. He didn't give up a run in five of his six outings before that three-game stretch and hasn't in 13 of the 16 games since. Since May 2, he's given up one run in 8.2 innings, with just three hits and three walks allowed.

[ashbury]

Ha ha.  When Berrios was traded, my stance was that Austin Martin's success or failure was nearly irrelevant to whether it was a good trade or not, and that all the chips were on SWR becoming a stud starting pitcher.  I felt vindicated for a long time where it came to Martin, as my impression of him had been that of a lackadaisical player especially on defense, while Richardson was slowly, slowly becoming a reliable pitcher who was building up stamina.  Well, the first third of this season is turning those thoughts on their head, because at the moment I'm thinking we got a reasonable return on a fine pitcher who we had little chance of retaining much longer, but not for the reason I expected.  Austin Martin's a ballplayer.

[HerbieFan]

I haven't seen much rhyme or reason to his bullpen usage (maybe that's a good thing with this group?) but kuddos to Shelton for having this team only a game under .500.  No Pablo.  Taj injury.  Abel injury.  Lewis and Wallner flame out.  Never would have guessed all of that would equal 26-27.

[Dman]

I didn't have Adams on my bingo card to go in and save the day in the 9th as he generally gives up hard contact.  Feels like Shelton is either a genius or getting some amazing good fortune with his pen management,  I love that they got it done today.  Was hoping for them to go at least 5 and 5 on this road trip and they are two wins away from that.  Will be interesting to see this White Sox team and what they can do.

[mark allen]

longest current win streak in majors. Bull pen looking good.

[tony&rodney]

The bullpen is working hard and the defense behind the pitchers is better. Martin, Outman, and Larnach all made plays in the outfield. Kreidler is playing a good shortstop right now. Outs mean everything to a pitcher. Caratini may be looking hapless in the batter's box but he has gone to the mound at critical moments, called a good game, catches the ball and makes the tag on those plays at the plate; huge. The boys are battling right now. I can agree there is not an All Star on the field today for the Twins but that was a gutsy, hard fought victory under really tough weather conditions. Give credit when it is due.

[gmwannabe]

My biggest fear is that like the Angels not trading Ohtani, the Twins will think they can sneak into the playoffs and not trade Ryan and Jeffers. Big mistake for the future if they don't trade them 2. Bigger mistake if they can't identify future decent prospects like the Jay's and Brewers do when trading away good players. I would take a good offer for Buxton as well because age 32 seems to be the start of declining skills in MLB if he'll waive his no trade clause. 

 . 

[JD-TWINS]

3rd straight game with 4 different guys getting 2 hits or more - that’s huge!

The coaching staff’s emphasis & the player’s ability to “be more selective” at the plate has changed things. Some days it’s more significant than others. Martin & Larnach’s plate discipline is becoming elite.

2 W’s in Chicago and 1 or 2 in Pittsburgh and they’ll still be near .500 and through their longest trip of the year…………now 3 games into 17 straight w/o an off day……… important stretch …….. maybe they can run off a few more w/o a loss? 🤞🤞

Zebby - Ryan - Prielipp - Bradley in Chicago …… Rojas should be available to back up Prielipp on Wednesday, if needed.

[GNess]

7 minutes ago, gmwannabe said:

My biggest fear is that like the Angels not trading Ohtani, the Twins will think they can sneak into the playoffs and not trade Ryan and Jeffers. Big mistake for the future if they don't trade them 2. Bigger mistake if they can't identify future decent prospects like the Jay's and Brewers do when trading away good players. I would take a good offer for Buxton as well because age 32 seems to be the start of declining skills in MLB if he'll waive his no trade clause. 

 . 

Trading Buxton would be a big mistake unless the return is substantial to say the least.

 

[ryan189]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

I didn't have Adams on my bingo card to go in and save the day in the 9th as he generally gives up hard contact.  Feels like Shelton is either a genius or getting some amazing good fortune with his pen management,  I love that they got it done today.  Was hoping for them to go at least 5 and 5 on this road trip and they are two wins away from that.  Will be interesting to see this White Sox team and what they can do.

gives up hard contact what are you talking about look at his numbers this year 

[jkcarew]

8 minutes ago, GNess said:

Trading Buxton would be a big mistake unless the return is substantial to say the least.

 

If he remains mostly healthy the return would be, without question, substantial. But, moot if the offer isn’t from a team for whom he’d move.

[jkcarew]

20 minutes ago, gmwannabe said:

My biggest fear is that like the Angels not trading Ohtani, the Twins will think they can sneak into the playoffs and not trade Ryan and Jeffers. Big mistake for the future if they don't trade them 2. Bigger mistake if they can't identify future decent prospects like the Jay's and Brewers do when trading away good players. I would take a good offer for Buxton as well because age 32 seems to be the start of declining skills in MLB if he'll waive his no trade clause. 

 . 

Don’t exactly want to give this a thumbs up 😉…but, I don’t think you’re wrong.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, gmwannabe said:

My biggest fear is that like the Angels not trading Ohtani, the Twins will think they can sneak into the playoffs and not trade Ryan and Jeffers. Big mistake for the future if they don't trade them 2. Bigger mistake if they can't identify future decent prospects like the Jay's and Brewers do when trading away good players. I would take a good offer for Buxton as well because age 32 seems to be the start of declining skills in MLB if he'll waive his no trade clause. 

 . 

Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep....

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Another rough outing for Ober. Hopefully he's ok. 

Boy is Caratini struggling. That signing is looking worse by the day. His OPS has dropped lower than Outmans. 

Gomez gave up his first run as a Twin. He's done well so far. Dropping a couple of his ineffective pitches seems to have helped. 

Bullpen came through again. Nice 1 pitch save for Adams 😂

I am very happy Lee was finally moved off SS. I truly hope his time there is completely done. Arcia and Kriedler have been great there, Kriedler especially. His defense is great at a few positions. And Arcia coming up with the hot bat! Much needed. Today's infield defense was as good as this team can get. Lee at 3rd. Kriedler at SS. Arcia at 2B. Clemens at 1B. They can play that lineup everyday. 

[Linus]

Twins defense and bad Bosox running wins the game. Hat tip to Martin with his good catch in a critical situation and Larnach / Kriedler / Caratini for getting the critical out at the plate. 

[Blyleven2011]

When you sweep a series in their park , what could go wrong  ...

When you are winning with a 4 game winning  and 7 out of 10 , nothing could be better ...

A wet game , a nervous wreck in bottom of the ninth but twins prevail ,  it's a team effort that is working ...

When you don't have Buxton,  keaschall or Jeffers playing who would have believed the sweep was possible in Boston ...

[twinstalker]

5 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Exciting to see the club win some close games. The boys look like they’re having fun.

There is something very positively different about this team, and I'm afraid to go there as to why, at least until we see how the summer goes.  But the ABs are better, the starting pitching is better, and the defense is seemingly getting better after being the worst last year and early this year.

A lot of this might have to do with the manager change, I don't know.  Certainly, the tolerance for bad defense seems less so than the Rocco years that spiraled into the Anti-Twins Way.

[stringer bell]

To me, there have been a number of games that in the past the Twins would invariably lose and they've managed to win a lot of them. There isn't a signature way to win or a small number of players doing the heavy lifting. There have been a lot of team wins, where four or more guys were crucial in the win.

The bullpen certainly has been more than the sum of its parts and run scoring is better than the team OPS says it should be. The Twins aren't even a decent defensive team, but they've made a lot of really good plays in key situations to help them win.

This still feels like a lot of good fortune and reverting to the mean would mean these victories might turn into tough defeats, but it has been fun so far.

[AceWrigley]

That catch by Austin Martin was just plain outstanding.

[RpR]

For what ever reason this is the first win in 31 years where I jumped out of my chair with joy with the last out; last was game winning home run from Puckett.

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, AceWrigley said:

That catch by Austin Martin was just plain outstanding.

Absolutely a turning point moment...

[knothole61]

35 minutes ago, RpR said:

For what ever reason this is the first win in 31 years where I jumped out of my chair with joy with the last out; last was game winning home run from Puckett.

My cardiologist has forbidden me from doing that!

[Western SD Fan]

6 hours ago, HerbieFan said:

I haven't seen much rhyme or reason to his bullpen usage (maybe that's a good thing with this group?) but kuddos to Shelton for having this team only a game under .500.  No Pablo.  Taj injury.  Abel injury.  Lewis and Wallner flame out.  Never would have guessed all of that would equal 26-27.

I think if you followed the bullpen chart it would make mostly logical sense on Shelton's bullpen usage.  I like that he trusts (or demands) his guys to get more than 3 outs.  In previous years when we had a better bullpen, it would basically be 5 and fly for the starters and the bullpen had to go in perfect order for it to work.  No chance for failure or we were down to someone like Moran or Alcala trying to get critical outs because no one was left or was out because they had previously pitched the last 3 days in a row.  The fact that any of these relievers may pitch anywhere from the 5th to the 9th keeps them all engaged.  Shelton admitted with Rojas on Saturday that they typically have a bullpen plan depending on how the game goes. 

I think this bullpen is being managed better because it has to be in order to be effective.  Per Inside the Pen, we are still listed as the 29th pen in MLB.  I feel that is skewed from the current reality as Banda and Orze have performed better.  They have SWR and his ungodly 7.53 ERA stinking up our numbers and we have finally cut some dead weight off in Topa and Garcia.  If I calculate ERA and WHIP from when Topa or Garcia was last used (Topa on Monday), the bullpen has a 0.95 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP.  While that is very SSS, I think it shows that putting faith in the young guys in the bullpen has given them the confidence to perform.