It wasn’t easy and at times it looked like it wouldn’t happen at all, but last night the Red Sox swept their second team of the season and improved their record to 7-10. Â Clay Buchholz got his second win of the season and new closer Alfredo Aceves notched his fourth save while the Red Sox got seven runs on ten hits off the Minnesota Twins’ pitching.
In the three-game series, the Red Sox offense scored 24 runs. Â In the seven games before this series, the Sox had scored a total of 28 runs. Thus proving nothing helps a struggling offense like an opposing team’s struggling pitching.
The Red Sox had some pitching struggles of their own last night with starter Clay Buchholz giving up ten hits and five runs and not making it through the sixth inning.  Fortunately, Twins starter Liam Hendricks didn’t make it out of the fifth inning and he gave up seven runs on nine hits.  After Buchholz, the Red Sox used six more pitchers who combined to give up only one run on three hits and one walk.  But those numbers are a little deceiving.
In the sixth inning, Buchholz struck out his first batter and then gave up two singles and a double, resulting in a run being scored. Â He was replaced by Scott Atchison who immediately gave up a single to Joe Mauer that scored two runs. Â Justin Thomas then replaced Atchison and proceeded to immediately give up a double, knocking in another run. Â Manager Bobby Valentine decided to bring in Matt Albers to try and get the final two outs of the inning, and Albers only needed one pitch to give up a single and a run. Â Thankfully, a double play got them out of the sixth inning with the Red Sox still leading 7-6, but there were more anxious moments to come.
After Vicente Padilla and Franklin Morales had 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth, closer Alfredo Aceves came in to finish the game in the ninth. Â The closer faced six batters, loading the bases with two outs by giving up a walk, a single and then hitting Alexi Casilla. Â Twenty pitches into the inning, Aceves got Denard Span to strike out swinging on an 80 mph changeup.
It was nerve-wracking but effective and the Red Sox leave Minnesota with the series sweep. Â Tonight they’re in Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox with Felix Doubront taking the mound against the newest member of the perfect game club Philip Humber.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)