Minnesota Twins snatch 9-8 victory from Boston Red Sox in Grapefruit League – MLB Spring Review
The Minnesota Twins managed to snatch a close 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox in their Grapefruit League encounter on Saturday, March 26 at City of Palms Park in Florida.
The batting struck back in the ninth inning to help the Minnesota Twins fight back in the game as they contributed six winning runs against league rivals Red Sox. Boston remained unfortunate as they again failed to win after being ahead 8-1 in the game.
Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka had an impressive day on the mound as he pitched six brilliant innings and struck-out four giving up only one run. His pitching on the day was superb as the Red Sox were looking to their pitching line-up to get the job done
in this game.
On the other hand, Twins’ Brian Duensing struggled with his pitching as he allowed seven hits and six runs in just over four innings pitched. "Dunce was up," Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He really didn't have his best stuff."
As he Twins were facing a seven run deficit in the eighth inning, offence targeted Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks. With an 8-3 lead in the ninth, Jenks gave up five hits and six runs to the Minnesota Twins.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona commented on Jenks game losing performance that literally handed the win over to Twins. "His stuff's been pretty consistent all spring and he's been pitching in different situations. I just think tonight was a bad night," Francona
said.
In the ninth inning, Rene Rivera started the action with a double to right-field that helped Jason Repko score. Dustin Martin assisted Rivera earn a run and Brian Dinkelman to move to third, who then scored on Mark Dolenc’s line drive single to left-field.
Chad Lambin hammered a big fly ball double that earned a three run lead moving the scoreboard to 9-8.
The Twins will be excited from this close win, as it showed that they have the skill and the talent to fight back against even the most formidable teams in MLB. Disappointment filled the Red Sox dugout as once again they managed to lose a game from a commanding
position. Boston is starting to look rattled and slightly frustrated as they are a very powerful team with tons of talent and yet they again lost even with a massive lead.
The win will definitely boost the Twins confidence levels and create some winning momentum for them. The Red Sox will be looking at ways to correct the mistakes that they have made in the last few games and try to improve their performance before the regular
season begins.
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