BOSTON — Miguel Sano homered, stole a base and made a tackle on Friday, and the Twins beat the Red Sox, 8-4, on Jackie Robinson Day at Fenway Park.
But the Twins' first road game of the season won't be remembered for any of that.
Byron Buxton led off the game with a pop fly that fell to the ground in short left field, then injured his right knee with an awkward slide into second base. He left the field in obvious pain, and the Twins were left hoping that their frequently sidelined on-field leader had somehow escaped serious injury.
In the meantime, though, Minnesota's offense reappeared after a subdued weeklong homestand in which the team collectively batted .181. Luis Arraez singled and doubled, driving home a run each time, Gary Sanchez batted in two runs with a fifth-inning single, and Sano — 0 for 19 in the season's first week — drove a Nick Pivetta curveball over the Green Monster scoring two runs.
Sano also walked in the fourth inning and stole the fifth base of his eight-year career, beating Christian Vazquez's throw to second base. And in a less-effective moment, he accidentally knocked Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to the ground near second base in an effort to double him off the base — a play that umpire Chad Whitson ruled interference, awarding Bradley the base.
Joe Ryan was masterful in his second start of the season, mixing in as many sliders as fastballs to keep the Red Sox off-balance. Ryan pitched six innings, needing only 82 pitches to do so, and allowed only five hits and no walks while striking out seven. Alex Verdugo's solo home run marked the only blemish on Ryan's third career victory.
Jhoan Duran endured the first hiccup of his Twins' career, surrendering three runs on two doubles and a Rafael Devers home run in the eight inning that dropped into the first row of seats near Fenway Park's shallow right-field pole.
