Bad outings from Mark Melancon and Scott Atchison left the Red Sox big losers against the Twins Monday afternoon, as Minnesota poured on the runs to knock off the Sox, 8-4.
From the beginning, it was clearly the Twins' day at the plate. Felix Doubront would suffer through eight hits in his 4.2 innings of work, though he managed to limit damage to just two runs. Despite being outhit, the Red Sox actually managed to hold a lead to that point, scoring three times in the second on a Jason Repko double and Jacoby Ellsbury single.
The Twins would seize the lead, however, in the sixth inning. Showing no mercy to Mark Melancon, the Twins would load the bases with their first four batters, and unload them with their fifth, as Joe Benson drove home three runs with a double.
While the game was still in reach at that point, the Twins would pull away with a big ninth inning. Grabbing a double, single, and another double to start the inning, the Twins would add two more runs on sacrifice flies to build a commanding 8-3 lead. With the Sox only managing to push across one more in the bottom of the ninth, Minnesota closed to within a game in the Mayor's Cup.
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