MINNEAPOLIS - Designated hitter David Ortiz slugged two home runs and starting pitcher Felix Doubront pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 9-4 Wednesday at Target Field.
Ortiz, a former Twin, terrorized his old team once again, bashing two homers for the second consecutive game. Both of Ortiz’s homers were solo shots, but he also had a double and accounted for three runs.
Doubront allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five to improve to 2-3. It was his second straight quality start.
Red Sox left fielder Grady Sizemore had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts also had a two-hit game for Boston (20-19).
Twins left fielder Eduardo Nunez had two hits and a knocked in a run and third baseman Trevor Plouffe had a double and a two-run homer to lead Minnesota (18-20).
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The Red Sox jumped ahead early, pounding out three hits in the top of the first to grab the lead. Right fielder Shane Victorino’s single to left set up Ortiz, who doubled into the gap in left center to put runners on second and third. An RBI groundout by first baseman Mike Napoli plated the first run before a double high off the wall in right by left fielder Grady Sizemore drove in Ortiz to make it 2-0.
Ortiz made it 3-0 in the third inning with a massive home run into the second deck in right field. The homer was Ortiz’s 383rd in a Red Sox uniform, moving him past Jim Rice for third on the team’s all-time list. A double by Napoli and a single by Sizemore followed, giving the Sox a four-run lead.
The Twins had a chance to cut into the lead in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with nobody out. But Minnesota scored only one, on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Joe Mauer.
Boston got the run back in the fourth, getting a leadoff double by Bogaerts and a single by third baseman Will Middlebrooks. The RBI single broke up a 1-for-11 start to the road trip for Middlebrooks, who entered the night hitting .197.
Twins starter Kevin Correia was knocked around again, allowing five earned runs and nine hits over four innings. Correia’s ERA is now up to 6.80 this season.
Ortiz led off the fifth inning with his second homer of the night and fourth in two nights. It was his 11th homer of the season and 43rd career two-homer game. The two home runs on back-to-back days was the first time since July 2003 a Sox player had accomplished the feat (Ortiz did it against the New York Yankees).
Notes: Napoli’s third-inning double extended his consecutive games streak of reaching base to 33, the longest active streak in the major leagues and the longest since 2011 when teammate Dustin Pedroia reached in 37 straight. ... Ortiz’s third-inning home run was his eighth career homer in 13 games at Target Field. His fifth-inning shot was the 442nd of his career, tying him with Dave Kingman for 39th on MLB’s all-time list. ... Correia has three quality starts among his eight this season. ... Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe’s first-inning double was his 16th of the season, giving him sole possession of the American League lead in that category.
