Alex Verdugo and Xander Bogaerts each homered for two runs, Tanner Houck blanked the Minnesota Twins for more than five innings and the Boston Red Sox won 4-0 on Saturday.
Houck (1-0) was solid, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out four batters. In relief, Matt Straham had the next three outs while Garrett Whitlock allowed just two hits to the last seven batters.
The Twins left six riders on the trails.
Twins starter Sonny Gray (O-1) gave Verdugo a home run in the second inning before being called out two batters later with a hamstring strain in his right leg. Gray only made 31 pitches.
Josh Winder threw 5.1 innings in relief, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk. He was a victim of Bogaerts’ home run while getting two strikeouts. The team said Gray will be assessed on a daily basis.
Boston took a 2-0 lead when Verdugo hit an inbounds Gray offering for his third home run of the season.
The Twins threatened in the third inning after Nick Gordon and Miguel Sano hit the trails on a walk and single to open the inning. Houck managed to get away with it, however, forcing Ryan Jeffers to hit a double play and Luis Arraez hitting a ground ball to the infield.
Bogaerts made the Twins pay for the missed opportunity late in the inning, with a two-run long ball to the left.
Meanwhile, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Byron Buxton’s magnetic resonance imaging test revealed no structural damage to his right knee. He will again be evaluated by the team doctor and he will accompany his teammates to Kansas City. The manager does not plan to make any changes to the lineup at this time.
Elsewhere in the American League:
Detroit 1 – Kansas City 3
IT: reliever Will Vest (0-1) suffered the loss
KC : Hunter Dozier homered
Tampa Bay 2 – White Sox de Chicago 3
TB : Corey Kluber gave up two earned runs on four hits in five innings
CHI : Jose Abreu hit his first homer of the season. 6-2 record, best start since 2016
San Francisco – Cleveland
SF :
CLE :
Houston – Seattle
NEW:
SEA :
NY Yankees-Baltimore
NYY :
BAL :
LA Angels-Texas
LAA :
TEX :
