MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jarren Duran went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, Trevor Story hit his second homer in as many games, and the Red Sox earned a series win with a 13-1 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday.
Red Sox starter Brayan Bello yielded one earned run on five hits in seven innings with four strikeouts. The Dominican right-hander has recorded a quality start in nine of his past 10 outings.
Boston finished the month 17-7 and has the American League’s fifth-best record at 59-51. Minnesota (51-57) is 4-8 since the All-Star break and sits fourth in the AL Central.
Story’s 17th home run of the season gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Abraham Toro had an RBI sacrifice fly in the third, and Duran’s two-run single in the fifth made it 4-1 and ended starter Zebby Matthews’ day.
Matthews (2-3) gave up five earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.
Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman sat to rest the quadriceps that kept him out for seven weeks. He’s expected to return Friday. The Twins placed outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with left rib cartilage irritation.
Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa is listed as day-to-day after exiting Tuesday’s game with a migraine.
Key moment
After his 416-foot home run to the second deck in right-center field in the sixth inning, Duran rounded the bases with his arms outstretched to mimic an airplane, an homage to the turbulent charter flight that brought the Red Sox to the Twin Cities on Sunday night.
Key stat
Going into Wednesday, Boston led the AL and ranked third in the majors with a 2.94 ERA in July.
Up next
Both teams are off Thursday. The Red Sox open a six-game home stand Friday against Houston, while Minnesota begins a six-game road trip Friday at Cleveland.
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