Red Sox 9, Twins 5: Defensive Lapses Cost Twins Chance to Sweep Sox

Box Score
Starting Pitchers: Simeon Woods-Richardson - 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (92 pitches, 57 strikes (62% strikes))
Home Runs: Austin Martin (1), Ryan Kreidler (1)
Bottom 3 WPA: Simeon Woods Richardson (-0.39); Byron Buxton (-0.05); Matt Wallner (-0.04)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

It Looked Promising
The Twins rolled into this game having already secured the series—making it three in a row—but every game counts as a team builds towards the later part of the spring. Extending their home winning streak to seven games would have been a wonderful way to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. Instead, dead lumber and lousy leather derailed them in the early innings, putting them in a hole they couldn't escape.

The Twins faced 24-year-old lefty Connelly Early, fresh off a late 2025 call-up and still very much in his rookie era. The hot-hitting home lineup welcomed him with a solo home run from Austin Martin, who dropped the barrel on a pitch down and in and pulled it out of the park.

Connelly settled in after that, though, and kept the Twins to two hits and one run for the next five innings, before handing things off to the beleaguered Boston bullpen.

New Bomba Squad?
While today wasn't a great example of multiple home runs, it doesn't take away from the fact that the Twins lineup has shown a lot of consistency in their hitting. It hasn’t mattered who teams send out to the mound. In fact, lefties have posed the team no problems, despite preseason expectations to the contrary.

Too early to say it? Maybe. But also… it’s starting to feel a little Bomba-ish. The Twins pull the ball in the air as much as almost anyone in baseball. They're unlikely to make history this time, but if they can keep slugging the way they did even on a down day Wednesday, everyone will have a more fun summer than was forecasted.

It's Not Over Until It's Over... or Something Like That.
Even in a game where the guys looked down and out, in the ninth inning, Derek Shelton's competitive bunch put up a fight. In the last of 15 straight games between off days, they could have mailed in what shaped up to be a blowout loss, but they didn't.

The Twins started chipping away when Tristan Gray sparked momentum with a single, followed by Matt Wallner drawing a walk to put some real traffic on the basepaths. Brooks Lee delivered, too, ripping an RBI single to bring a run home and keep the inning alive. Ryan Kreidler stepped in, then, and made things interesting, right at the death. He hit his second home run of the week, another no-doubter.

Suddenly, what felt like a comfortable 9-1 Boston lead had been cut in half, forcing a mound visit and a pitching change as the Red Sox tried to stop the surge. Minnesota didn’t just score—they made Boston sweat. Alas, the comeback fell far short.

Simeon Woods-Richardson entered the game hoping to bounce back after a rough outing against the Blue Jays, wherein he was reportedly pitching through illness. If that’s the case, it offers some context—because otherwise, the performance raised concerns for the young starter.

He looked sharp through the first two innings, but things unraveled quickly in the third. Three misplays by Luke Keaschall spread acorss two plays helped Boston score twice to flip the score. Trevor Story then delivered a three-run homer to blow the game open, extending the lead to 5-1.

Woods-Richardson battled through the fourth inning. Despite walking two more and having poor defensive support again, he managed to escape without further damage. In the fifth, he wasn't so lucky, and the Red Sox extended their advantage to 7-1. The Sox were on Woods Richardson all day, but he got such lousy support from his infielders that it's hard to hang the loss on him.

The bullpen gave up two more runs, neutering the eventual would-be rally before it could begin.

Jackie Robinson Day Celebrated
Today is a very special day across MLB: Jackie Robinson Day. It comes at a moment when the league feels like it has renewed momentum toward inclusion and diversity in the player ranks. Across the league, the percentage of Black players on Opening Day active and inactive lists increased from 6.0% in 2024 to 6.2% in 2025 to 6.8% in 2026. This marks the first time in at least two decades that MLB has had back-to-back years of increases in that percentage. The 0.6% increase from last year is the highest since a 0.7% increase from 2017 to 2018.

Woods Richardson and Taj Bradley are proud to be members of the fraternity of Black starting pitchers. Byron Buxton and Josh Bell have two of the four corner lockers in the Twins clubhouse, offering leadership and mentorship to teammates of all races. This is arguably the most important holiday on the baseball calendar; the Twins have much to celebrate, despite the loss.

What’s Next?
After an off day, the Twins will welcome the Reds to town for the weekend. On Friday, the team sends ace Joe Ryan to the mound (2-1, 3.80 ERA), to face Brandon Williamson (1-1, 5.28 ERA).

Postgame Interviews 
Coming soon.

Bullpen Availability Chart