The Red Sox pounded out 18 hits on the way to a convincing 11-2 win over the Twins Tuesday night at Target Field.
Earning the win was starting pitcher Josh Beckett, who allowed two runs over six innings, striking out five and not walking a batter after walking three in the first inning. It was the second victory of the season for Beckett, who finished his outing throwing 100 pitches (37 of which came in the first inning).
Leading the Sox offense -- which scored 10 runs in the first five innings -- was Mike Aviles, who managed a four-hit game for the sixth time in his career. The shortstop, who raised his batting average from .291 to .333, came away with his third home run of the season. Also homering for the Red Sox was David Ortiz, who also pounded his third long ball of the season.
Ortiz was one of six Red Sox hitters to come away with multiple-hit games, with Adrian Gonzalez managing his third three-hit game of the season. Collecting a pair of hits apiece were Mike Sweeney, Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis and Marlon Byrd. Byrd's three hits in the last two games with the Red Sox matches his season total with the Cubs prior to being traded to Boston.
Scott Atchison continued to provide some of the Red Sox' most reliable relief, pitching two perfect innings, striking out three. The righty's ERA now stands at 1.54. Matt Albers pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing just one hit.
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Links:
[1] http://weei.com/redsox
[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox