Well At Least Brock Holt Cares

The Red Sox absolutely still can't score runs but that's ok at the moment since their pitching has been great and they're playing the Twins who are equally terrible. After last night's 1-0 victory, Boston (33-38 overall, 19-19 home) took the middle game of the series 2-1 tonight at Fenway Park vs. Minnesota (32-37 overall, 17-20 away). It was the third time in a week that they'd scored less than three runs but won, that's pretty hard to do.

Brock Holt (2 for 4, double, 2 runs, stolen base) continued to be one of the only reasons to tune in to the Red Sox at least so this season. He made his MLB debut in center field this evening and obviously turned in a web gem with a diving catch after Jonny Gomes lost the ball in the twilight sky. Magically, he has turned into the leadoff hitter that the team desperately needed.

Jon Lester (8-7) is over .500 for the first time in 2014. He threw 33 pitches in the rocky first inning but hung in there to go 6.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Can Boston just sign him to the long-term deal that he deserves already?

Dustin Pedroia's (2 for 4) RBI double in the first scored Holt and Xander Bogaerts' sacrifice fly in the third plated Holt for the 2-0 lead. Joe Mauer's RBI double in the sixth provided Minnesota's lone run. Former Yankees bust Phil Hughes (7-3; 8 innings, 2 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) is really coming into his own with the Twins, not that anybody in the world has noticed.

Burke Badenhop and Craig Breslow each notched an out in the seventh before Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the eighth for the hold (his 7th of the season). Koji Uehara was unavailable (rest) so Edward Mujica was called on for the save. Naturally the compete opposite of what you'd expect actually occurred: he had a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his second save as a Red Sox.

It isn't officially summer until Saturday but I say go with it since the weather is finally cooperating. This series wraps up tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) with John Lackey (8-4) facing Kyle Gibson (6-5). Skip work, school or whatever and go to this matchup, mostly to enjoy the sun and see if the Red Sox can earn a rare sweep.

Boston won't return to Fenway until June 30 (vs. Cubs) since they head out on a 10-game road trip after tomorrow's matinee: four in Oakland, three in Seattle and three in New York vs. Yankees. That is a very tough stretch and if they hope to go anywhere this season, they have to at least win half of them.

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If You Enjoy Car Crashes & Train Wrecks, The 2012 Red Sox Are The MLB Team For You

I didn't even see the game, I followed it on my laptop then caught the last inning on the radio but I would remiss if I didn't mention the latest soul-crushing, mind-numbing, punch to the balls for the Red Sox last night. They have lost nine straight to sub-.500 teams and are five games back in the AL Wild Card.

Boston (53-55, 27-32 home) led Minnesota (47-60, 24-28 away) 4-2 at Fenway Park and were one strike away from ending a three-game losing streak to the second worst team in the American League. Then Joe Mauer hit a three-run bomb (his 7th of the season) just over the Wall in left off Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves (2-7, 6th blown save).

As always, the Red Sox went down quietly as Jared Burton got a 1-2-3 ninth (on 9 pitches) for his fifth save of the season. Alex Burnett (4-3) got the easy win for recording the last out of the eighth. 2012 circled the drain a long time ago and I currently view this miserable franchise like I did last September: I take some sort of twisted joy from their failure since they are the most unlikable local team I can ever remember.

Clay Buchholz continued to be Boston's best starting pitcher (not much of a contest) and he deserved more than a no decision after seven innings, one run (0 earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Twins rookie Cole DeVries was superb as well against the Red Sox lineup that lacks punch without David Ortiz in it. He went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Of course, when we look at the box score, no team that has half as many hits (12-6) and three errors ever really should win. Let's be honest there.

Ben Revere went 3-for-4 with a run and stolen base, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Justin Morneau (2 hits, RBI) and Jamey Carroll (2 runs, 2 hits, RBI) continued to kill the Red Sox this weekend.

Boston took a 2-0 lead as Carl Crawford had an RBI double in the first and Mike Aviles slugged a solo homer in the second, his career-high 11th of the season.

Minnesota scored a run in the fifth on Kelly Shoppach's throwing error then Morneau's sacrifice fly in the eighth tied it at two.

Pedro Ciriaco-one of the only guys to cheer for this season-came through with a clutch pinch-hit homer in the eighth, the first of his MLB career over the Monster. Cody Ross added an RBI single.

Carroll's RBI single cut it to 4-3 in the ninth as Aceves stuggled to get the two-inning save. Bobby Valentine should have seen that he was struggling and gone to Craig Breslow to face Mauer, but he didn't since he's a moron.

Franklin Morales (2-2) is the only thing that stands between a sweep by the Twins this afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as he returns to the rotation to face Nick Blackburn (4-6). Get your popcorn ready, I'm pretty sure the Red Sox will find a way to do it. This series has been the final death knell to this season that we knew was going nowhere all along.

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Red Sox Pick Up First Sweep Since July 22-24

I can't say I could concentrate on the few innings of the game that I watched (since the Bruins' season ended abruptly) but the Boston Red Sox did something tonight that they hadn't accomplished since July 22-24, 2011: they swept a three-game series!

It took the lowly Minnesota Twins (5-14, 2-7 home) to accomplish the modest feat but hey, the Red Sox (7-10, 4-5 away) will take it at this point. Boston wrapped it up with a 7-6 victory at Target Field.

Clay Buchholz (2-1) and the Red Sox were ahead 7-1 in the sixth but they nearly gave it all away as the Twins scored five runs in the frame to cut it to 7-6. Matt Albers was able to get the last two outs of the sixth then Vicente Padilla (1-2-3 seventh), Franklin Morales (1-2-3 eighth) and Alfredo Aceves (4th save) were able to calm things down and avoid a meltdown like the one on Saturday against the Yankees. Granted, Aceves loaded the bases in the ninth but he struck out Denard Span (2 hits) to end it.

It's a joke that Buchholz has a winning record even this early since he has been nothing short of awful. In 5.1 innings of work, he allowed five earned runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Luckily for him, he faced Minnesota rookie Liam Hendriks (0-1), who at this pace won't be in MLB for very long. Hendriks was charged with seven earned runs on nine hits in four innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

Boston opened with four runs in the second on a Cody Ross RBI single and Mike Aviles' three-run homer to left (his fourth of the season).

Alexi Casilla (3 hits, run) knocked in Ben Revere with a single in the second to cut it to 4-1 but Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a two-run single in the third and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 3 hits-2B,3B) with an RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-1 Red Sox.

Minnesota's five-run sixth came on an RBI double by Span, Joe Mauer's two-run single, Justin Morneau's RBI double and Trevor Plouffe's RBI single.

There is no off-day tomorrow as Boston visits Chicago to face the White Sox (10-8) for four games at U.S. Cellular Field. Tomorrow night (8:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (0-0) faces Philip Humber (1-0) who is coming off of a perfect game on Saturday against the Mariners. Daniel Bard (1-2) faces John Danks (2-2) on Friday night, Jon Lester (0-2) gets Jake Peavy (3-0) on Saturday night and the series ends on Sunday afternoon with Josh Beckett (2-2) vs. Gavin Floyd (1-3).

I feel like the Red Sox always have trouble in Chitown but at least they've seemingly started to figure things out over the last few days.

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It's impossible not to have a mancrush on Joe Mauer

The Boston Red Sox played the role of doormat opponent yesterday afternoon as the fine folks of Minnesota and the Twins opened up Target Field with a 5-2 win.

Three familiar patterns have already emerged in 2010 for the Sox (3-4): 1) David Ortiz is hopeless at the plate and he needs to be benched, deported, something. 2) Jon Lester shouldn't pitch in April or May (35-8 lifetime in June-Oct.). 3) Boston will struggle all year against good teams and good pitching unless they make a move for Adrian Gonzalez or another run producer that they can drop in the middle of the order.

After spending a boatload on Joe Mauer this offseason and with this new park, it's fair to say that Minnesota (6-2) can't be considered small-market anymore. With apologies to Albert Pujols, who is the majors' best hitter, Mauer is the most valuable player since he's a Gold-Glove catcher and batting champion.

The hometown hero had three hits (including two doubles) and two RBIs while Jason Kubel added three hits, two RBIs and a run. Carl Pavano improved to 2-0 on the young season with six innings of work; he gave up one earned run on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Lester (0-1) couldn't locate any of his pitches from the start and he'd already thrown 50 pitches in the second inning, always a good sign. He lasted for five innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

The Twins jumped ahead right away with two in the first inning on Michael Cuddyer's RBI single which scored Denard Span (2 walks, 2 runs, hit, 2 stolen bases). Then Kubel's infield single scored Orlando Hudson.

Mauer's RBI double in the second made it 3-0 Twins before Ortiz, the former Twin, drove in Kevin Youkilis with an RBI double in the fourth. To be fair, left fielder Delmon Young did drop it (although it was a tough play) but Ortiz will take anything at this point.

A run scored on Mauer's infield single in the fourth and then Kubel hit the first home run in Target Field history.

Dustin Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the eighth score Jeremy Hermida but that's all Boston's feeble offense could muster.

New Twins closer Jon Rauch got a 1-2-3 ninth on nine pitches for his fifth save of the season. After the off-day today, John Lackey and Kevin Slowey square off tomorrow afternoon.