Last Updated on June 10, 2016 7:47 pm by Brad Burns
Twins try to stifle Pedroia, Red Sox
It requires a special type of hurler to muzzle Boston’s prolific offense, but that’s precisely what Madison Bumgarner accomplished on Wednesday.
John Farrell’s squad succumbed to San Francisco’s stud lefty, 2-1, slipping two games behind Baltimore in the American League East race. The Red Sox aim to take out their frustrations on the Twins in tonight’s series opener, with an 8:10 p.m. ET first pitch at Target Field. Handicappers at online sports book Bovada.lv list the visitors as 1.5-run favorites. Minnesota, meanwhile, represents a +132 underdog.
Boston’s bats continue to make AL arms shake with regularity. David Ortiz, Mookie Betts and company have scored a preposterous 342 runs this season, an average of 5.8 per contest. Dustin Pedroia’s riding the club’s latest epic hitting streak, too, after Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts went similarly bananas at the plate in May.
In order to annihilate the Twins (18-41), however, Farrell needs a stellar performance from Steven Wright (6-4, 2.29 ERA). David Price and Clay Buchholz tend to garner the most headlines among Beantown starters, but the 31-year-old knuckleballer has been arguably the team’s top option in the rotation. Wright is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in one career appearance vs. Paul Molitor’s bunch.
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Minnesota counters by sending Tyler Duffey (2-4, 4.79) to the mound. The righty carries a 7.94 ERA over the past two weeks, though he fanned eight in a recent bout vs. Tampa Bay. Of course, asking Duffey to neutralize the Red Sox (34-25) seems foolhardy. Even if the Twins’ bullpen rises to the occasion, expect Boston to cruise.
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