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Red Sox vs Twins Series Preview: Central division road trip begins

BySean Penney|
Apr 22, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (19) celebrates with Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) after hitting a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (19) celebrates with Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) after hitting a two-run home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning during a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox head to Minnesota to take on the Twins for the start of a six game road trip against Central division teams in each league.

The Boston Red Sox (15-13) visit the Minnesota Twins (14-12) in a weekend series that kicks off a six-game road trip that wraps up next week in Milwaukee.

Boston split four games at Fenway Park this week with the Baltimore Orioles. The series was loaded with controversy between the two bickering franchises with a little bit of baseball mixed in. These teams could use some time apart to cool off, so it’s a good thing they won’t meet again until next month.

The Twins started their current homestand by taking two out of three from the Oakland A’s. After winning six of their last ten games, Minnesota finds themselves a mere half game behind Cleveland and Chicago for the division lead.

The Red Sox were road warriors a year ago, yet have started this season 4-6 away from home. Only Baltimore has a winning road record in the AL East and it will take a series sweep in Minnesota for Boston to join them.

Pitching Matchups

Friday, May 5 at 8:10 PM – Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs Phil Hughes (4-1, 5.06 ERA)

Saturday, May 6 at 2:10 PM – Rick Porcello (1-4, 4.46 ERA) vs Nick Tepesch

Sunday, May 7 at 2:10 PM – Chris Sale (2-2, 1.38 ERA) vs Ervin Santana (5-0, 0.66 ERA)

Series Notes

The highlight of the series comes on Sunday in a battle of aces. Santana leads the American League in ERA and has lasted at least six innings while giving up no more than one earned run in each of his starts this season. Boston will counter with Sale, who is third in the league in ERA and first in strikeouts. Santana’s 0.71 WHIP gives him a slight edge for the league lead in WHIP over Sale (0.74), although Sale’s vastly superior strikeout-to-walk ratio suggests that trend won’t last in the long run.

More from Red Sox News

  • Dustin Pedroia recorded the 1,708th hit of his career Thursday night, passing Harry Hooper for 8th-most in Red Sox history. Bobby Doerr ranks 7th with 2,042 hits.
  • Prior to Friday night’s game, the Red Sox optioned reliever Brandon Workman back to Triple-A Pawtucket and recalled infielder Deven Marrero. Boston could use some added depth to the infield in the wake of several recent injuries, although it’s unclear how much Marrero will help considering he’s hitting .169/.178/.211/.389 in 19 games at Pawtucket.
  • Boston’s top three options to man the hot corner are all sidelined by injury after Marco Hernandez was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a shoulder subluxation. That leaves utility infielder Josh Rutledge as the team’s primary third baseman, with Chase d’Arnaud and Marrero serving as potential alternatives. Rutledge has committed errors in each of his last two games, adding to the defensive woes the team has struggled with at third base all season. Red Sox third baseman have already committed 12 errors, easily the most in the majors and more than double the league average.

    • Key Hitters

    Boston Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts

    2017 Season (24 Games): .330/.385/.375, 6 RBI, 3 steals

    Career vs Minnesota Twins (20 Games): .427/.435/.585, 2 home runs, 13 RBI

    More from Red Sox News

    Bogaerts enters the series riding an 8-game hitting streak that ties him for the 12th longest in the league this season. He has a pair of multi-hit games during this stretch and has brought his average up to .330, which ties him for fifth in the AL batting title race.

    His power has been noticeably absent, with only three extra-base hits, none of which were home runs. Bogaerts has shown more willingness to hit the ball the other way, which is what he does when he’s at this best. Last year he sacrificed a bit of that on his way to a career-high 21 homers, but it came at a moderate expense to his batting average. Now he’s back to using the whole field, making him a better hitter overall even if it contributes to Boston’s power outage issues.

    Minnesota Twins: Miguel Sano

    2017 Season (26 Games): .300/.432/.656, 8 home runs, 27 RBI

    Career vs Boston Red Sox (4 Games): .412/.444/.647, 1 home run, 2 RBI

    The 23-year old slugger appears to be fulfilling his lofty potential with a scorching start to the season. He’s always had tremendous power and should easily surpass the career-high 25 home runs he set last season if he stays healthy enough to stay in the lineup for close to a full season.

    Sano struggles with making contact, piling up 178 strikeouts in only 437 at-bats last season. His 35.1 K% this year is right in line with his career rate, suggesting that batting average is destined to tumble well below his current .300 mark. So far his average has been lifted by an unsustainable .442 BABIP that is over 100 points higher than last season.

    Next: Machado angers fans with slow HR trot


    Check back with BoSox Injection prior to the start of every Red Sox series this season for our preview!

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