The Red Sox and Twins are set to start their four game series as Jon Lester and Sam Deduno face off in game one.
We'll keep you up-to-date on all the action as it goes down in Fenway Park.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, End 8th -- The Sox go 1-2-3, making this game all-but-over headed to the ninth.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, Mid 8th -- Lester is through eight innings of three-run baseball with only the third run being really substantial. Unfortunately the offense has left him completely high-and-dry, so even his best outing in a long time doesn't seem to be destined for a win.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, End 7th -- The Sox do not take advantage of Lester's benevolence, going 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, Mid 7th -- Lester gets another 1-2-3 frame to send the Sox to the bottom of the seventh still trailing by three.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, End 6th -- More baserunners for the Red Sox, but once again they come with two outs, and the Sox can't pick up the decisive hit.
Twins 3, Red Sox 0, Mid 6th -- A pair of two-out doubles cost the Red Sox a third run in the sixth, but right now they need to get their offense going or the runs hardly matter.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, End 5th -- Ryan Kalish grounds out, Pedro Ciriaco stikes out, and Jacoby makes it a symmetrical inning with his own ground ball to keep the Sox scoreless through five.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, Mid 5th -- Lester is out of a jam after yet another well-placed ground ball gives the Twins a leadoff double. The next three grounders all find gloves, with Ryan Doumit moving to third on the first, being held on the second with the infield in, and heading back to the dugout after the third.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, End 4th -- The Sox get their first hit of the night on an Adrian Gonzalez double down the left field line, and Ryan Lavarnway draws a walk behind him, but with both baserunners coming with two outs, all it takes is a Will Middlebrooks fly ball to end the inning.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, Mid 4th -- Lester's luck bounces back, with a ground ball earning him a double play this time following a leadoff line drive into left field. A strikeout of Danny Valencia was good to get him out of the inning with three batters faced.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, End 3rd -- Ground ball, ground ball, ground ball. The Red Sox are through three now without a hit to their names.
Twins 2, Red Sox 0, Mid 3rd -- An incredibly tough-luck inning costs Lester a pair of runs in the third. A come-backer gets it started for the Twins, deflecting off of Lester's glove and skirting past Pedro Ciriaco at short for a leadoff single. While Lester is able to grab the next couple of outs without difficulty, a ground ball that stays just fair past the bag at first gives the Twins a 1-0 lead, and a bloop over the head of Ciriaco makes it 2-0 without much in the way of contact. Only a diving play by Ryan Kalish on a ball practically on the infield dirt saves Lester more bad luck and ends the inning.
Red Sox 0, Twins 0, End 2nd -- Ryan Lavarnway makes good contact in the second, but the Sox can't so much as get the ball out of the infield, with a diving play from Brian Dozier stopping the recently recalled catcher from reaching base.
Red Sox 0, Twins 0, Mid 2nd -- Jon Lester rolls right along into the second, getting a pair of ground balls around a strikeout of Ryan Doumit earned by a beautiful curveball that dipped under and around the the catcher's bat for strike three.
Red Sox 0, Twins 0, End 1st -- Deduno has a scoreless inning of his own, but it's not nearly so neat and tidy as Lester's. A long battle from Carl Crawford and a pair of two-out walks--including the third from Adrian Gonzalez in three games after going a month without--serve to drive his pitch count up to 26 by the time he manages to get an inning-ending pop-up from Cody Ross.
Red Sox 0, Twins 0, Mid 1st -- Not only is Lester through a scoreless first, but he's through a very impressive scoreless first. Both Denard Span and Ben Revere go down watching strike three, with Revere's comming on an 0-2 cutter with exceptional late movement, going from clearly inside to clearly in the zone in the blink of an eye. Josh Willingham does manage to put the bat on the ball, but only manages a lazy fly ball out to Jacoby Ellsbury in center field, who puts it away to end the innig.