Victor Caratini and Ryan Jeffers each homered and drove in three runs on Monday and the Minnesota Twins knocked out Boston starter Garrett Crochet in the second inning en route to a 13-6 victory.
Jeffers had three of the Twins' 11 hits, while Ryan Kreidler and Byron Buxton also homered. Minnesota has won seven of its last eight games.
"At the end of the day, the biggest thing is definitely winning, so to be able to win the way we are and put together those wins is fun, it's fun baseball for sure," Buxton said.
Bailey Ober (2-0) allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out seven in six innings.
Jarren Duran homered and Caleb Durbin had two hits and scored two runs for Boston.
The Twins ambushed Crochet with four runs in the first inning, then knocked out Boston's ace lefty with a seven-run second. Crochet (2-2) allowed 11 runs — 10 earned — on nine hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings, the shortest start of his career.
The big blows in the second came from two new faces hitting their first home runs with the Twins. Caratini hit a three-run blast off the facing of the third deck in left field. Then Kreidler, a light-hitting utility infielder with two career home runs, sent Crochet's last pitch into the second deck in left for a solo homer.
"Yeah, of course, you want to get your first homer and you do it for a new team, but like I'm not looking for a homer," Caratini explains. "I just try to put a good swing to the ball and whatever happened is not in my control."
The Twins posted a 13-23 record against left-handed starters last year. But in the last seven days, they have beaten Detroit's Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, Toronto's Eric Lauer and now Crochet. In those four outings, the Twins scored 29 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings pitched by the starters.
"I think we, when we said it from the onset that we wanted to have a group or a team that this fan base is proud of, and do things the right way with their expectations," manager Derek Shelton said after the game. "And coming into the year and we were very clear with it, like, we have to win some fans back and understand that. But I think this group, the way they play, I mean, it's easy to cheer for these guys because of the fact that every night they go out and bust their butts for 27 outs."
Buxton's solo homer in the fifth was the 85th of his career at Target Field, moving past Max Kepler to become the all-time leader at the Twins' ballpark.
"I ain't done yet, so when it comes to that time, it does mean a lot," Buxton said. "I shouldn't say it in that way, just to be able to wear this uniform, and do it in this uniform, do it here in front of the fans. I think everybody in here wishes it could be something that they could do, you know? I had a few of them go, 'I'm coming for you,' but I got 85 more to go."
Boston Red Sox (6-10, fifth in the AL East) vs. Minnesota Twins (10-7, second in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. Pregame 6:00 p.m. on 830 WCCO, 102.9 The Wolf and the Audacy App (in-market restrictions apply)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Sonny Gray (2-0, 2.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 10 strikeouts); Twins: Mick Abel (0-2, 6.08 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 13 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Sox -140, Twins +118; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins will try to keep their five-game home win streak alive when they face the Boston Red Sox.
Minnesota is 10-7 overall and 6-2 in home games. The Twins have the third-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .333.
Boston has a 6-10 record overall and a 3-7 record on the road. The Red Sox have gone 1-4 in games decided by one run.
Tuesday's game is the second time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Wallner leads the Twins with three home runs while slugging .387. Ryan Jeffers is 12 for 34 with two home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games.
Wilyer Abreu has a .355 batting average to lead the Red Sox, and has four doubles, a triple and three home runs. Willson Contreras is 14 for 36 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 7-3, .239 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
Red Sox: 5-5, .254 batting average, 4.09 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: Twins: Cody Laweryson: 15-Day IL (forearm), Royce Lewis: 10-Day IL (knee), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Travis Adams: 15-Day IL (tricep), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Red Sox: Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (oblique), Johan Oviedo: 15-Day IL (elbow), Patrick Sandoval: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 10-Day IL (knee), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
