Boston gets 7th straight win despite weather
Minnesota holds moment of silence before game in honor of Black man shot by police
Rafael Devers homered for the fourth straight game and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-2 on a snowy Tuesday afternoon in a series opener moved back following the fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb.
Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer and Bobby Dalbec added a pair of RBI doubles as Boston won its seventh in a row after losing its first three games of the season.
“I felt good today. I felt good in my early work the last two days, even though we didn’t play yesterday,” Dalbec said. “Obviously, it’s pretty cold and tough to get the hands going. But you kind of got to just push through it and find a way to stay warm.”
Monday’s game was postponed due to safety and sensitivity concerns in the Twin Cities after the police shooting a day earlier of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. The Twins held a moment of silence for Wright prior to Tuesday’s game.
Snow flurries fell for most of the game and it was 33 degrees for the first pitch. That made for the third-coldest start at Target Field, the record being 27 degrees on April 7, 2018.
Adam Ottavino (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief. Matt Barnes pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.
Randy Dobnak (0-2) took the loss for Minnesota, which has lost three in a row.
Christian Arroyo led off the eighth against Dobnak with a double and scored on Dalbec’s second double of the game to right field to break a 2-all tie. Arroyo had two hits and scored on both of Dalbec’s doubles.
“That’s what makes us a good team,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of getting production from the last two batters in the lineup, Arroyo and Dalbec. “I do believe on a daily basis, regardless of who plays, we’re going to be competitive offensively and we’re going to be good defensively.”
Devers hit a long home run in the ninth off Jorge Alcala. Devers started the season 0 for 13 but is 9 for 22 (.409) since — he has five home runs and 10 RBI in his last four games.