MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nick Gordon hit his first-ever grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, Jake Cave and Gary Sánchez also homered, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 10-5 on Tuesday night.
Gordon lined a two-run double in the first inning and followed with a drive to the upper deck in right field in the fifth to lead Minnesota to its fifth straight win. The Twins trail AL Central-leading Cleveland by 1 1/2 games.
Michael Fulmer (5-5) worked 1 1/3 innings of relief with two strikeouts.
Kutter Crawford (3-6) surrendered five runs — four earned — on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings for Boston, which has lost seven of nine.
Gordon’s homer was the lone hit in an inning of miscues for the Red Sox in the fifth.
Alex Verdugo dropped a flyball in right field. Crawford then walked Max Kepler. Ryan Brasier entered and hit Jose Miranda with a pitch to load the bases for Gordon.
Gordon, the 6-foot, 160-pound former first-round pick, has helped Minnesota stay in playoff contention while dealing with injuries. Originally a shortstop, Gordon has played all over the outfield and infield, and the grand slam was his sixth homer of the season.
As he went to the field for the next half-inning, Gordon’s teammates stayed in the dugout while the public address announcer told the crowd it was Gordon’s first career grand slam. Gordon waved during an unexpected curtain call before his teammates took the field.
The Twins came from behind to win for the fourth straight game.
Boston scored three times in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. Tommy Pham and Xander Bogaerts had RBI singles and another run scored on a wild pitch from Fulmer.
ON BROADWAY
The Red Sox completed an Aug. 1 trade with the Chicago White Sox by acquiring minor league right-hander Taylor Broadway. The deal included catcher Reese McGuire going to Boston with left-hander Jake Diekman heading to Chicago.
Broadway, 25, will head to Double-A Portland. A sixth-round draft pick in 2021, he went 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 37 relief appearances for Double-A Birmingham.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: 2B Trevor Story was in the lineup for the second straight day.
Twins: 2B Jorge Polanco missed his third straight game with a knee injury. The injury doesn’t bother him when running but is an issue when hitting.
UP NEXT
Boston will have RHP Michael Wacha (9-1, 2.53 ERA) on the mound for the series finale Wednesday night. Minnesota counters with RHP Joe Ryan (10-6, 3.65).
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