Boston’s Alex Verdugo, center, celebrates his RBI walk-off single in the 10th inning against the Minnesota Twins Tuesday night in Boston. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
BOSTON — Alex Verdugo singled home the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning on a fly ball that barely stayed fair at Fenway Park, giving the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins in a bizarre finish Tuesday night.
Umpires needed a few minutes to review Verdugo’s drive, which bounced off the low wall in right field just short of Pesky’s Pole, before officially declaring it a hit and the game over. That sparked a second round of celebrating by the Red Sox, who got 11 strikeouts from starter Chris Sale but little offense until the end.
Reese McGuire had just tied it with a two-run single as the Red Sox rallied after allowing two runs in the top of the 10th. McGuire entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth and reached on a key defensive error when Christian Vázquez was called for catcher’s interference. The play helped Boston score once in the eighth and eventually force the extra inning, which featured more offense than the previous nine combined.
Max Kepler hit a solo homer for Minnesota in the 10th and Carlos Correa had a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Boston went up 1-0 in the first after a leadoff double by Verdugo and an RBI single by Rafael Devers. The Red Sox didn’t score again until the eighth and ended up leaving 13 on base, going 5 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
John Schreiber (1-0) got the win despite allowing two hits and a run in the 10th.
Jovani Moran (0-1) took the loss, yielding three runs on three hits in the 10th. Moran also threw a wild pitch that helped the Red Sox win their fourth in five games.
Sale’s 11 strikeouts were his most since striking out 12 on Aug. 13, 2019, at Cleveland.
The left-hander had six strikeouts in the first two innings and eight through four, then ran into trouble in the fifth when he walked Michael A. Taylor, hit Kepler with a pitch and had no play after fielding a bunt by Willi Castro that loaded the bases with nobody out. Sale struck out Donovan Solano, then left fielder Masataka Yoshida did a nice job running down a sinking drive by Correa, holding him to a sacrifice fly that tied it 1-all.
Sonny Gray finished with seven strikeouts and held the Red Sox to one run and seven hits over five innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
WELCOME BACK
Fans welcomed back Vázquez, the longtime Boston catcher who was behind the plate for the Twins in his first game as a visitor at Fenway Park. The Red Sox showed a tribute video before the second inning for Vázquez, who was drafted by Boston in 2008 and was a key member of the 2018 World Series championship team.
Vázquez spent his entire career with the Red Sox before he was traded to Houston last August, adding a second World Series title. He signed as a free agent with Minnesota.
NOTES: 2B Christian Arroyo was out of the lineup with tightness in his right hamstring. Kiké Hernández took over at second for the series opener. … Boston Manager Alex Cora said LHP James Paxton will make a relief appearance for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
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