MINNEAPOLIS -- David Ortiz has told the story many times of his first spring with the Red Sox, how he morphed from being a raw hitter to "Big Papi" after the team removed the shackles the Minnesota Twins had placed on him early in his career.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Two weeks after a series against the Minnesota Twins sent them on a long slide, the Red Sox have used their return set to get on a roll. Behind David Ortiz's first two-homer game since last summer, the Red Sox beat the Twins 12-5 on Saturday night, winning the first two games of the series and extending their winning streak to four.
Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey pitched one inning in a rehab outing for Pawtucket on Saturday night against Indianapolis, allowing one run and two hits (a home run to outfielder Brett Carroll and a double to catcher Tony Sanchez) while striking out two.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Red Sox fielded an unorthodox lineup for the second straight day at Target Field on Saturday, and Shane Victorino's back wasn't the only one manager John Farrell had to worry about. Shortstop Stephen Drew also was out of Farrell's lineup on Saturday because of back troubles, leading Farrell to start Pedro Ciriaco against left-hander Scott Diamond and the Minnesota Twins.
Shane Victorino is out of the lineup for the second consecutive day after hurting his back while running into the wall making a catch Thursday night against the Rays. Jonny Gomes, whose sacrifice fly in the 10th inning Friday provided the winning run, will bat second and play left field, with Daniel Nava in right.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Before Friday night, Will Middlebrooks hadn't attempted a sacrifice bunt since 2008, when he was a 19-year-old in his first season of professional baseball at Single-A Lowell. But there the big third baseman was in the 10th inning at Target Field, putting a 1-0 slider down to move the go-ahead run to third base.
MINNEAPOLIS -- When the Red Sox last played the Minnesota Twins, they lost three of four at Fenway Park and slipped back into a tie for first place for the first time in a month. They haven't been back atop the AL East since then, and they will have to wait at least another day to tie the Yankees for the division lead.
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second time in a week, Shane Victorino is feeling the effects of an ill-fated run-in with an outfield wall. Victorino's sore back kept him from playing in Friday's series opener with the Minnesota Twins after he had crashed into the right-field wall on Thursday in Tampa Bay.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Fernando Rodney celebrates a save, and Tampa Bay victory, by pretending to launch an arrow into the heavens. But how do you simulate being hoist by your own petard, which was Shakespeare's fancy way of describing a 16th-century criminal accidentally harming himself instead of his potential victims.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox reliever Joel Hanrahan underwent Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery Thursday, the team announced Thursday. Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery, repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Hanrahan's elbow as well as the torn flexor muscle with which he was originally diagnosed.
MORE MLB COVERAGE
