Twins 4, Red Sox 2: Bradley, Rojas and the Twins Stay on Fire in Boston

Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (73 pitches, 48 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: N/A
Top 3 WPA: Taylor Rogers (0.18), Bradley (0.17), Kendry Rojas (0.17)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins welcomed back their flamethrower phenom Taj Bradley to the mound at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon. In a matinee that got pretty heated, Bradley and the Twins kept their cool and stayed hot in Boston.

Starting Hot 
The Red Sox sent a familiar face out as an opener, with lefty Jovani Moran getting the first frame against his former squad. Moran got ahead of Byron Buxton 0-2 to lead things off, but Buck stroked a single to get the offense rolling. Trevor Larnach roped a single of his own to start off his four-hit day, and then Austin Martin took Moran to the gap to get the Twins on the board at 1-0.

Bradley's Heater
A Josh Bell sacrifice fly spotted Bradley another run to work with, and he worked with the lead quite well. After facing some rehab time for a pectoral muscle issue over the past two weeks, Bradley looked to return to his dominant ways.

The first three innings saw little resistance from the Boston bats, with Taj alternating between low-90's movement and 99 mph heaters. The fourth inning saw the Red Sox get their first hit, and eventually their first run as a Ceddanne Rafaela double plated Mickey Gasper. Willson Contreras tried to follow Gasper home, but Martin threw a bead to Orlando Arcia, who in turn threw a pea to Victor Caratini for the tag at home. That play not only kept the Twins in the lead, but it also set a fire under the Twins offense as Caratini took exception to Contreras' bump at the plate, and Contreras took exception to any human interaction that ensued. 

With the bullpens and benches all lathered up, the top of the fifth inning began with the third of Larnach's four hits. Martin followed with an infield hit up the middle to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Bell stepped to the plate after having been the first man off the bench to skirmish in the previous inning, and he ironically exposed Contreras with a grounder to first that ate up the normally elite defender to load the bases against righty bulk man Brayan Bello. Kody Clemens failed to make them pay by flying out to shallow left, but Caratini hit a fly ball to right jussssssst far enough to score Larnach on a sweet slide to make it 3-1. Arcia then hit a grounder that was headed for out number three until Bello mindlessly reached behind his back and deflected the ball into no mans land. Martin scored, and the Twins bullpen got itself a three-run lead to work with.

Rojas Holds the Fireline, and Morris Pours on Gas
Bradley wasn't going to go very deep into the game in his first outing back, and Kendry Rojas was ready and waiting to keep the heaters coming. Rojas surrendered only one hit and struck out three over his three innings of work, and it looked like the Twins were on their way to an easy road victory.

Then Andrew Morris took the hill for the bottom of the ninth, and Contreras laced a lead-off single into left. Morris followed by walking Rafaela on five pitches. Now the Twins were feeling the heat, and the tying run stepped into the box in the form of young Nick Sogard. Sogard took a 95 mph heater, and then popped up a changeup to ease some of the tension. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit, and Arcia made a slick play on a grounder up the middle to take out the runner at second to get the Twins within one out of a big win. Connor Wong was next man up, and he worked a walk on a full count to load em up. 

Derek Shelton stuck with the rookie Morris in this new-to-him crucial spot. The first two pitches to Isiah Kiner-Falefa were not close, and Morris was limited to heaters only to finish off the game. On a full count, Morris yanked a fastball into the ground to walk in the second run for the Red Sox.

With the tying run on second, Shelton went to lefty Taylor Rogers to face the dangerous lefty Jarren Duran. Rogers got ahead 0-2, and for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth times on the evening the Red Sox got down to their final strike. This time, Rogers caught Duran looking on a top shelf sweeper. Duran challenged, but the Twins victory got "confirmed." Thank you homeplate umpire Jen Pawol for doing your job well, as the Twins didn't have a challenge left in the tank had you botched that call. Twins Territory owes you a $2 beer next time you come to Target Field!

What’s Next?
The Twins look to get out the brooms at Fenway for the first time since 2015. The Bearded Nightmare (5-2, 3.63 ERA) looks to keep the good times rolling in Bean Town. Facing Bailey Ober will be former Twins ace Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93 ERA) who is 1-2 with a non-stellar 7.20 ERA against his former team since leaving via free agency after the 2023 season. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35pm CDT.

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