It was snowing at Target Field Tuesday, but the 33 degree weather didn’t stop the Red Sox and Twins from playing. It was the second coldest matchup in Red Sox history.
“It was cold,” Martin Perez said after tossing 5 innings allowing 2 runs off of 4 hits. “I couldn’t feel my fingers in the first inning.”
Perez allowed 2 runs in each of the the first two innings, but held the Twins scoreless in his final three frames.
“He did an outstanding job,” Red Sox manager Cora said. “It didn’t look too promising to start.”
The Red Sox offense didn’t get going until the 5th inning, where Hunter Renfroe hit his first career home run as a member of the Red Sox to put them on the board. Bobby Dalbec would follow up with a game-tying RBI double in the same inning to score Christian Arroyo.
Dalbec would follow that up with an RBI double in the 8th to give them the lead.
He had two key hits in the win, after entering the game hitting .120 on the season.
“I’ve always kind of been a slow starter,” Dalbec said. “Hate to say it but it’s just the way it is.”
The bottom three hitters in the lineup, Renfroe, Arroyo and Dalbec had 5 of the Red Sox 7 hits.
“It can be a dangerous lineup in any part of it,” Dalbec later said. “Especially when everyone’s clicking.”
“We feel from top to bottom we’re good,” Cora said. “That’s a game changer. I do believe we’re going to hit for power at the bottom of the lineup. But at the same time, when the game is on the line we can have good at-bats, and that’s the most important thing.”
Rafael Devers would homer into deep left to make it 4-2, homering in his fourth straight game. Matt Barnes would come on for his first save of the season and the Red Sox would pick up their 7th win of the season.
The Red Sox will play in a double header tomorrow. Both games are 7 innings long. Eovaldi on the bump for game one, and Rodriguez on the bump for game two.
**PHOTO VIA STACY BENGS**