AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - PITCHING CHANGE MIN: JOE NATHAN (4-2, 1.95) IN THE 8TH SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J LUGO ON FIRST, E HINSKE ON THIRD, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4 DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D PEDROIA (.318, 2-FOR-4)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: J Nathan relieved M Guerrier. SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J LUGO ON FIRST, E HINSKE ON THIRD, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5 BOSTON 4 BOTTOM, 8TH DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D Pedroia (.318, 2-FOR-4)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - MINNESOTA 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 5 12 1 BOSTON 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 11 1 (TOP 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - JOE NATHAN BOS - HIDEKI OKAJIMA DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L RODRIGUEZ (.227, 2 HR, 12 RBI) N PUNTO (.212, 1-FOR-3) J BARTLETT (.269, 3-FOR-4)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">MINNESOTA (5) VS BOSTON (4) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Bartlett ss 4 2 3 0 0 1 1 .269 J Kubel lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .268 T Hunter cf 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 .289 J Morneau dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .275 M Cuddyer rf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .278 G Jones 1b 4 1 2 1 0 2 1 .211 M LeCroy c 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .143 B Buscher 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 L Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227 N Punto 2b 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 .212 Totals 33 5 12 5 0 9 11 BATTING: 2B - J Bartlett (20, J Beckett); N Punto (18, J Beckett). 3B - J Kubel (2, J Beckett). HR - M Cuddyer (16, 2nd inning off J Beckett 0 on, 0 Out), G Jones (2, 6th inning off J Beckett 0 on, 1 Out). SF - T Hunter. RBI - J Kubel (65), M Cuddyer (81), T Hunter 2 (106), G Jones (4). 2-out RBI - T Hunter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - N Punto 1, M LeCroy 1, J Morneau 1, T Hunter 1. GIDP - M LeCroy. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - B Buscher (1, 2nd base off J Beckett/J Varitek), J Bartlett (23, 2nd base off B Corey/J Varitek), M Cuddyer (5, 2nd base off H Okajima/J Varitek). CS - T Hunter (9, 2nd base by J Beckett/J Varitek). FIELDING: E - M LeCroy (1, throw). DP: 2 (B Buscher-N Punto-G Jones, N Punto-J Bartlett-G Jones). BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Pedroia 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .318 M Ramirez lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .297 B Moss pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 D Ortiz dh 4 2 4 2 0 0 0 .330 M Lowell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .324 J Drew rf-cf 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .266 J Varitek c 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .256 J Ellsbury cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 .352 B Kielty rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .226 E Hinske 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .205 J Lugo ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .238 Totals 34 4 11 4 2 4 14 BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (51, B Bonser). HR - D Ortiz (34, 5th inning off B Bonser 0 on, 0 Out), J Varitek (16, 8th inning off M Guerrier 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - D Ortiz 2 (116), J Drew (60), J Varitek (67). 2-out RBI - J Drew. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Hinske 2, M Ramirez 1, D Pedroia 2, J Ellsbury 1. GIDP - M Lowell 2. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: SB - J Drew (4, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), D Pedroia (7, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), J Lugo (31, 2nd base off J Nathan/M LeCroy). FIELDING: E - J Beckett (2, throw). DP: 2 (J Varitek-J Lugo, J Lugo-E Hinske). ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA - 111 011 00 -- 5 BOSTON - 200 010 01 -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era B Bonser 5 6 3 3 2 2 1 5.10 J Rincon 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.13 G Perkins 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.29 M Guerrier 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 1 2.28 J Nathan 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.94 BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era J Beckett 6 10 5 5 0 6 2 3.27 B Corey 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.93 H Okajima 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.25 G Perkins pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. HBP - J Varitek (by B Bonser). Pitches-strikes: B Bonser 97-62; J Rincon 19-11; G Perkins 2-2; M Guerrier 20-14; J Nathan 5-2; J Beckett 99-65; B Corey 9-8; H Okajima 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bonser 9-5; J Rincon 2-2; G Perkins 0-0; M Guerrier 2-0; J Nathan 0-1; J Beckett 4-7; B Corey 1-1; H Okajima 0-1. Batters faced: B Bonser 24; J Rincon 5; G Perkins 1; M Guerrier 6; J Nathan 1; J Beckett 26; B Corey 4; H Okajima 4. UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Gary Darling. 2B--Jerry Meals. 3B--Rob Drake. Weather: 78 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, in from right.</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - PITCHING CHANGE BOS: MANNY DELCARMEN (0-0, 2.14) STARTING THE 9TH CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4 DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L RODRIGUEZ (.227, 2 HR, 12 RBI)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: M Delcarmen relieved H Okajima. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5 BOSTON 4 TOP, 9TH DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L Rodriguez (.227, 2 HR, 12 RBI)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - MINNESOTA 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 12 1 BOSTON 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 11 1 (BOT 9) CURRENT PITCHERS: MIN - JOE NATHAN BOS - MANNY DELCARMEN DUE UP FOR BOSTON: B MOSS (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI) D ORTIZ (.330, 4-FOR-4, HR, 2 RBI) M LOWELL (.324, 0-FOR-4)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">MINNESOTA (5) VS BOSTON (4) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Bartlett ss 5 2 3 0 0 1 1 .269 J Kubel lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .268 T Hunter cf 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 .289 J Morneau dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .275 M Cuddyer rf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .278 G Jones 1b 4 1 2 1 0 2 1 .211 M LeCroy c 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .143 B Buscher 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 L Rodriguez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225 N Punto 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .212 Totals 36 5 12 5 0 10 11 BATTING: 2B - J Bartlett (20, J Beckett); N Punto (18, J Beckett). 3B - J Kubel (2, J Beckett). HR - M Cuddyer (16, 2nd inning off J Beckett 0 on, 0 Out), G Jones (2, 6th inning off J Beckett 0 on, 1 Out). SF - T Hunter. RBI - J Kubel (65), M Cuddyer (81), T Hunter 2 (106), G Jones (4). 2-out RBI - T Hunter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - N Punto 1, M LeCroy 1, J Morneau 1, T Hunter 1. GIDP - M LeCroy. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - B Buscher (1, 2nd base off J Beckett/J Varitek), J Bartlett (23, 2nd base off B Corey/J Varitek), M Cuddyer (5, 2nd base off H Okajima/J Varitek). CS - T Hunter (9, 2nd base by J Beckett/J Varitek). FIELDING: E - M LeCroy (1, throw). DP: 2 (B Buscher-N Punto-G Jones, N Punto-J Bartlett-G Jones). BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Pedroia 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .318 M Ramirez lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .297 B Moss pr-lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 D Ortiz dh 4 2 4 2 0 0 0 .330 M Lowell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .324 J Drew rf-cf 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .266 J Varitek c 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .256 J Ellsbury cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 .352 B Kielty rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .226 E Hinske 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .205 J Lugo ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .238 Totals 34 4 11 4 2 4 14 BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (51, B Bonser). HR - D Ortiz (34, 5th inning off B Bonser 0 on, 0 Out), J Varitek (16, 8th inning off M Guerrier 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - D Ortiz 2 (116), J Drew (60), J Varitek (67). 2-out RBI - J Drew. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Hinske 2, M Ramirez 1, D Pedroia 2, J Ellsbury 1. GIDP - M Lowell 2. Team LOB - 9. BASERUNNING: SB - J Drew (4, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), D Pedroia (7, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), J Lugo (31, 2nd base off J Nathan/M LeCroy). FIELDING: E - J Beckett (2, throw). DP: 2 (J Varitek-J Lugo, J Lugo-E Hinske). ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA - 111 011 000 -- 5 BOSTON - 200 010 01 -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era B Bonser 5 6 3 3 2 2 1 5.10 J Rincon 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.13 G Perkins 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.29 M Guerrier 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 1 2.28 J Nathan 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.94 BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era J Beckett 6 10 5 5 0 6 2 3.27 B Corey 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.93 H Okajima 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.25 M Delcarmen 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.09 G Perkins pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. HBP - J Varitek (by B Bonser). Pitches-strikes: B Bonser 97-62; J Rincon 19-11; G Perkins 2-2; M Guerrier 20-14; J Nathan 5-2; J Beckett 99-65; B Corey 9-8; H Okajima 14-9; M Delcarmen 13-8. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bonser 9-5; J Rincon 2-2; G Perkins 0-0; M Guerrier 2-0; J Nathan 0-1; J Beckett 4-7; B Corey 1-1; H Okajima 0-1; M Delcarmen 2-0. Batters faced: B Bonser 24; J Rincon 5; G Perkins 1; M Guerrier 6; J Nathan 1; J Beckett 26; B Corey 4; H Okajima 4; M Delcarmen 3. UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Gary Darling. 2B--Jerry Meals. 3B--Rob Drake. Weather: 78 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, in from right.</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: R Clayton ran for D Ortiz. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, R CLAYTON ON FIRST, B MOSS ON SECOND, 0 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5 BOSTON 4 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M Lowell (.324, 0-FOR-4)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE PLAY: K Youkilis hit for B Kielty. SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, J DREW ON FIRST, R CLAYTON ON SECOND, B MOSS ON THIRD, 2 OUTS CURRENT SCORE: MINNESOTA 5 BOSTON 4 BOTTOM, 9TH DUE UP FOR BOSTON: K Youkilis (.287, 16 HR, 81 RBI)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - MINNESOTA 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 12 1 BOSTON 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 12 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: MIN - BOOF BONSER, JUAN RINCON (6TH), GLEN PERKINS (7TH), MATT GUERRIER (7TH), JOE NATHAN (8TH) AND MATT LECROY BOS - JOSH BECKETT, BRYAN COREY (7TH), HIDEKI OKAJIMA (8TH), MANNY DELCARMEN (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK HOME RUNS: MIN - MICHAEL CUDDYER (16) OFF JOSH BECKETT IN THE 2ND, 0 ON GARRETT JONES (2) OFF JOSH BECKETT IN THE 6TH, 0 ON BOS - DAVID ORTIZ (34) OFF BOOF BONSER IN THE 5TH, 0 ON JASON VARITEK (16) OFF MATT GUERRIER IN THE 8TH, 0 ON</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">AL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - MINNESOTA 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 12 1 BOSTON 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 12 1 (FINAL) BATTERIES: MIN - BOOF BONSER, JUAN RINCON (6TH), GLEN PERKINS (7TH), MATT GUERRIER (7TH), JOE NATHAN (8TH) AND MATT LECROY BOS - JOSH BECKETT, BRYAN COREY (7TH), HIDEKI OKAJIMA (8TH), MANNY DELCARMEN (9TH) AND JASON VARITEK WP - BOOF BONSER (8-12) LP - JOSH BECKETT (20-7) SAVE - JOE NATHAN (36) HOME RUNS: MIN - MICHAEL CUDDYER (16) OFF JOSH BECKETT IN THE 2ND, 0 ON GARRETT JONES (2) OFF JOSH BECKETT IN THE 6TH, 0 ON BOS - DAVID ORTIZ (34) OFF BOOF BONSER IN THE 5TH, 0 ON JASON VARITEK (16) OFF MATT GUERRIER IN THE 8TH, 0 ON TIME: 3:14 ATT: 36,743 PROBABLES: MIN - KEVIN SLOWEY (4-0, 4.57) BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (14-12, 4.48)</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">MINNESOTA (5) VS BOSTON (4) - FINAL MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg J Bartlett ss 5 2 3 0 0 1 1 .269 J Kubel lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .268 T Hunter cf 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 .289 J Morneau dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .275 M Cuddyer rf 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .278 G Jones 1b 4 1 2 1 0 2 1 .211 M LeCroy c 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .143 B Buscher 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 L Rodriguez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225 N Punto 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .212 Totals 36 5 12 5 0 10 11 BATTING: 2B - J Bartlett (20, J Beckett); N Punto (18, J Beckett). 3B - J Kubel (2, J Beckett). HR - M Cuddyer (16, 2nd inning off J Beckett 0 on, 0 Out), G Jones (2, 6th inning off J Beckett 0 on, 1 Out). SF - T Hunter. RBI - J Kubel (65), M Cuddyer (81), T Hunter 2 (106), G Jones (4). 2-out RBI - T Hunter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - N Punto 1, M LeCroy 1, J Morneau 1, T Hunter 1. GIDP - M LeCroy. Team LOB - 5. BASERUNNING: SB - B Buscher (1, 2nd base off J Beckett/J Varitek), J Bartlett (23, 2nd base off B Corey/J Varitek), M Cuddyer (5, 2nd base off H Okajima/J Varitek). CS - T Hunter (9, 2nd base by J Beckett/J Varitek). FIELDING: E - M LeCroy (1, throw). DP: 2 (B Buscher-N Punto-G Jones, N Punto-J Bartlett-G Jones). BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Pedroia 2b 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .318 M Ramirez lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .297 B Moss pr-lf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .280 D Ortiz dh 4 2 4 2 1 0 0 .330 R Clayton pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253 M Lowell 3b 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .324 J Drew rf-cf 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 .266 J Varitek c 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 .256 J Ellsbury cf 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 .352 B Kielty rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .226 a-K Youkilis ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 .286 E Hinske 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .205 J Lugo ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .238 Totals 38 4 12 4 4 6 20 a-struck out swinging for B Kielty in the 9th. BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (51, B Bonser); B Moss (2, J Nathan). HR - D Ortiz (34, 5th inning off B Bonser 0 on, 0 Out), J Varitek (16, 8th inning off M Guerrier 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - D Ortiz 2 (116), J Drew (60), J Varitek (67). 2-out RBI - J Drew. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Hinske 2, M Ramirez 1, K Youkilis 2, D Pedroia 2, J Ellsbury 1. GIDP - M Lowell 2. Team LOB - 12. BASERUNNING: SB - J Drew (4, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), D Pedroia (7, 2nd base off B Bonser/M LeCroy), J Lugo (31, 2nd base off J Nathan/M LeCroy). FIELDING: E - J Beckett (2, throw). DP: 2 (J Varitek-J Lugo, J Lugo-E Hinske). ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA - 111 011 000 -- 5 BOSTON - 200 010 010 -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era B Bonser (W, 8-12) 5 6 3 3 2 2 1 5.10 J Rincon (H, 14) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.13 G Perkins (H, 4) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.29 M Guerrier (H, 14) 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 1 2.28 J Nathan (S, 36) 1 1/3 1 0 0 2 2 0 1.91 BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era J Beckett (L, 20-7) 6 10 5 5 0 6 2 3.27 B Corey 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.93 H Okajima 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.25 M Delcarmen 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.09 G Perkins pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. IBB - J Drew (by J Nathan). HBP - J Varitek (by B Bonser). Pitches-strikes: B Bonser 97-62; J Rincon 19-11; G Perkins 2-2; M Guerrier 20-14; J Nathan 28-15; J Beckett 99-65; B Corey 9-8; H Okajima 14-9; M Delcarmen 13-8. Ground balls-fly balls: B Bonser 9-5; J Rincon 2-2; G Perkins 0-0; M Guerrier 2-0; J Nathan 1-1; J Beckett 4-7; B Corey 1-1; H Okajima 0-1; M Delcarmen 2-0. Batters faced: B Bonser 24; J Rincon 5; G Perkins 1; M Guerrier 6; J Nathan 7; J Beckett 26; B Corey 4; H Okajima 4; M Delcarmen 3. UMPIRES: HP--Larry Poncino. 1B--Gary Darling. 2B--Jerry Meals. 3B--Rob Drake. T--3:14. Att--36,743. Weather: 78 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, in from right.</div>
Twins get to Beckett, beat Red Sox <h3>MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- Josh Beckett picked a bad time for his worstouting of the second half. Beckett was touched for five runs and a pair of homers as theRed Sox dropped a 5-4 decision to the Minnesota Twins, missing achance to trim another game off their magic number to clinchthe American League East. The Twins put single runs on the board in five of the first sixinnings and got a solid out from starter Boof Bonser (8-12), whoallowed three runs in five innings to earn the win. Beckett (20-7), who leads the majors in wins, was looking tolock up his first career Cy Young award with a solid outing, butgot off to a rocky start, allowing at least two hits and a runin each of the first three frames. The 27-year-old righthander, who had earned wins in each of hislast four outings, allowed 10 hits and five runs while strikingout six and not issuing a walk. It was just the fourth timethis season that he had allowed double-digit hits and just thethird time he allowed more than one homer. With the New York Yankees (92-67) picking up a win at Tampa Bay,Boston's magic number remains at two with three games to play.Should the two teams end with identical records, the Yankeeswould be declared division champions due to their superiorhead-to-head record against the Red Sox (94-65). Minnesota got on the board in the first when Jason Bartlett ledoff the game with a single and came around to score on JasonKubel's triple to deep center. The lead was short-lived as the Red Sox countered with a pair ofruns in the bottom half. David Ortiz, who went 4-for-4,doubled home Manny Ramirez and came around to score on J.D.Drew's RBI single to center. The Twins pulled even in the second when Michael Cuddyer led offwith a blast to left field and grabbed a 4-2 lead when ToriiHunter drove in single runs in the third and fifth frames. Ortiz cut the lead in half with a solo homer in the fifth - his34th blast of the season - deep into the seats in right field. But rookie Garrett Jones countered in the sixth with a soloblast, his second career homer, to push the Twins lead back to5-3. Bonser was lifted after the fifth and charged with six hitswhile walking two and striking out a pair. The 25-year-oldrighthander is now 3-2 over his last six starts after a 12-startwinless streak from June 16 to August 18. Boston mounted a comeback in the late innings when Jason Varitekhomered in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4.The Red Sox then loaded the bases with one out in the ninthagainst Minnesota All-Star closer Joe Nathan, but Varitek andKevin Youkilis both struck out to end the contest. Three Twins relievers bridged the gap to Nathan, who pitched thefinal 1 1/3 innings to earn his 36th save of the season. To add injury to insult, Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury wasremoved from the game in the fifth inning with cramping in hisright calf.
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA (5) AT BOSTON (4) - HOW THEY SCORED ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA 1ST: J Bartlett singled to right. J Kubel tripled to deep center, J Bartlett scored. T Hunter grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Kubel out at home. J Morneau struck out swinging. T Hunter caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, BOSTON 0. BOSTON 1ST: D Pedroia singled to center. M Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to third, D Pedroia out at second. D Ortiz doubled to deep center, M Ramirez scored. M Lowell grounded out to shortstop, D Ortiz to third. J Drew singled to center, D Ortiz scored. J Drew stole second. J Varitek walked. J Ellsbury struck out swinging, J Ellsbury safe at first on throwing error by catcher M LeCroy, J Drew to third, J Varitek to second. E Hinske grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 1, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 2ND: M Cuddyer homered to left. G Jones struck out looking. M LeCroy struck out swinging. B Buscher singled to center. B Buscher stole second. N Punto flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 3RD: J Bartlett doubled to deep center. J Kubel grounded out to second, J Bartlett to third. T Hunter hit sacrifice fly to center, J Bartlett scored. J Morneau singled to left. M Cuddyer flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 5TH: J Drew in center field. B Kielty in right field. N Punto doubled to deep center. J Bartlett struck out looking. J Kubel lined out to third. T Hunter reached on infield single to second, N Punto scored, T Hunter to second on throwing error by pitcher J Beckett. J Morneau flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 4, BOSTON 2. BOSTON 5TH: D Ortiz homered to right. M Lowell lined out to third. J Drew grounded out to third. J Varitek flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 4, BOSTON 3. MINNESOTA 6TH: M Cuddyer struck out swinging. G Jones homered to center. M LeCroy struck out swinging. B Buscher popped out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. BOSTON 8TH: L Rodriguez at third base. J Drew struck out looking. J Varitek homered to left center. B Kielty struck out swinging. E Hinske singled to right. J Lugo singled to shallow right, E Hinske to third. J Nathan relieved M Guerrier. J Lugo stole second. D Pedroia popped out to first. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4.</div>
AL: MINNESOTA at BOSTON <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MINNESOTA (5) AT BOSTON (4) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Minnesota Starting Lineups -- J Bartlett SS, J Kubel LF, T Hunter CF, J Morneau DH, M Cuddyer RF, G Jones 1B, M LeCroy C, B Buscher 3B, N Punto 2B, B Bonser RHP. Boston Starting Lineups -- D Pedroia 2B, M Ramirez LF, D Ortiz DH, M Lowell 3B, J Drew RF, J Varitek C, J Ellsbury CF, E Hinske 1B, J Lugo SS, J Beckett RHP. Umpires -- Larry Poncino (HP), Gary Darling (1B), Jerry Meals (2B), Rob Drake (3B). Gametime Weather: 78 degrees, Cloudy, wind in from right at 11 mph. MINNESOTA 1ST: J Bartlett singled to right. J Kubel tripled to deep center, J Bartlett scored. T Hunter grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Kubel out at home. J Morneau struck out swinging. T Hunter caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 1, BOSTON 0. BOSTON 1ST: D Pedroia singled to center. M Ramirez grounded into fielder's choice to third, D Pedroia out at second. D Ortiz doubled to deep center, M Ramirez scored. M Lowell grounded out to shortstop, D Ortiz to third. J Drew singled to center, D Ortiz scored. J Drew stole second. J Varitek walked. J Ellsbury struck out swinging, J Ellsbury safe at first on throwing error by catcher M LeCroy, J Drew to third, J Varitek to second. E Hinske grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 1, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 2ND: M Cuddyer homered to left. G Jones struck out looking. M LeCroy struck out swinging. B Buscher singled to center. B Buscher stole second. N Punto flied out to center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 2. BOSTON 2ND: J Lugo grounded out to third. D Pedroia grounded out to second. M Ramirez flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 3RD: J Bartlett doubled to deep center. J Kubel grounded out to second, J Bartlett to third. T Hunter hit sacrifice fly to center, J Bartlett scored. J Morneau singled to left. M Cuddyer flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2. BOSTON 3RD: D Ortiz singled to right. M Lowell grounded into double play, third to second to first, D Ortiz out at second. J Drew walked. J Varitek hit by pitch, J Drew to second. J Ellsbury grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Varitek out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 4TH: G Jones singled to center. M LeCroy grounded into double play, shortstop to first, G Jones out at second. B Buscher lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2. BOSTON 4TH: E Hinske struck out swinging. J Lugo flied out to right. D Pedroia singled to right. D Pedroia stole second. M Ramirez flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 2. MINNESOTA 5TH: J Drew in center field. B Kielty in right field. N Punto doubled to deep center. J Bartlett struck out looking. J Kubel lined out to third. T Hunter reached on infield single to second, N Punto scored, T Hunter to second on throwing error by pitcher J Beckett. J Morneau flied out to right. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) MINNESOTA 4, BOSTON 2. BOSTON 5TH: D Ortiz homered to right. M Lowell lined out to third. J Drew grounded out to third. J Varitek flied out to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 4, BOSTON 3. MINNESOTA 6TH: M Cuddyer struck out swinging. G Jones homered to center. M LeCroy struck out swinging. B Buscher popped out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. BOSTON 6TH: J Rincon relieved B Bonser. B Kielty grounded out to second. E Hinske flied out to left. J Lugo grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. MINNESOTA 7TH: B Corey relieved J Beckett. N Punto struck out swinging. J Bartlett singled to left. J Bartlett stole second. J Kubel flied out to center, J Bartlett to third. T Hunter bunt grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. BOSTON 7TH: D Pedroia flied out to center. M Ramirez singled to center. B Moss ran for M Ramirez. G Perkins relieved J Rincon. D Ortiz singled to left, B Moss to second. M Guerrier relieved G Perkins. M Lowell grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, D Ortiz out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. MINNESOTA 8TH: B Moss in left field. H Okajima relieved B Corey. J Morneau flied out to right. M Cuddyer singled to center. G Jones struck out swinging. M Cuddyer stole second. M LeCroy struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 3. BOSTON 8TH: L Rodriguez at third base. J Drew struck out looking. J Varitek homered to left center. B Kielty struck out swinging. E Hinske singled to right. J Lugo singled to shallow right, E Hinske to third. J Nathan relieved M Guerrier. J Lugo stole second. D Pedroia popped out to first. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4. MINNESOTA 9TH: M Delcarmen relieved H Okajima. L Rodriguez grounded out to second. N Punto struck out looking. J Bartlett grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4. BOSTON 9TH: B Moss doubled to deep left. D Ortiz walked. R Clayton ran for D Ortiz. M Lowell grounded out to first, B Moss to third, R Clayton to second. J Drew intentionally walked. J Varitek struck out swinging. K Youkilis hit for B Kielty. K Youkilis struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4.</div>
Twins get to Beckett, beat Red Sox <h3>MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 4</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- Josh Beckett picked a bad time for his worstouting of the second half. Beckett was touched for five runs and a pair of homers as theRed Sox dropped a 5-4 decision to the Minnesota Twins, missing achance to trim another game off their magic number to clinchthe American League East. With the New York Yankees (92-67) picking up a win at Tampa Bay,Boston's magic number remains at two with three games to play.Should the two teams end with identical records, the Yankeeswould be declared division champions due to their superiorhead-to-head record against the Red Sox (94-65). "We have so much going on on our field that we have to worryabout ourselves," Varitek said when asked if the team wasscoreboard watching. The Twins put single runs on the board in five of the first sixinnings and got a solid out from starter Boof Bonser (8-12), whoallowed three runs in five innings to earn the win. Beckett (20-7), who leads the majors in wins, was looking tolock up his first career Cy Young award with a solid outing, butgot off to a rocky start, allowing at least two hits and a runin each of the first three frames. "I had a good year, but there are other guys who've had goodyears too," Beckett said of his Cy Young chances. "That issomething that I can't control." The 27-year-old righthander, who had earned wins in each of hislast four outings, allowed 10 hits and five runs while strikingout six and not issuing a walk. It was just the fourth timethis season that he had allowed double-digit hits and just thethird time he allowed more than one homer. "It was a lot of things, but the biggest was fastball command,"Beckett said of what went wrong. "When I tried throwing them onthe corners it would just go off the plate or just in the middleand they are a good fastball hitting team." "His command was off, that was first and foremost, and thathasn't happened too many times this year," catcher Jason Variteksaid. Minnesota got on the board in the first when Jason Bartlett ledoff the game with a single and came around to score on JasonKubel's triple to deep center. The lead was short-lived, as the Red Sox countered with a pairof runs in the bottom half. David Ortiz, who went 4-for-4,doubled home Manny Ramirez and came around to score on J.D.Drew's RBI single to center. The Twins pulled even in the second when Michael Cuddyer led offwith a blast to left field and grabbed a 4-2 lead when ToriiHunter drove in single runs in the third and fifth frames. "That was exciting," Hunter said. "It felt like a playoffatmosphere, something we are not playing for right now, but itactually felt good to get that victory." Ortiz cut the lead in half with a solo homer in the fifth - his34th blast of the season - deep into the seats in right field. But rookie Garrett Jones countered in the sixth with a soloblast, his second career homer, to push the Twins lead back to5-3. Bonser was lifted after the fifth and charged with six hitswhile walking two and striking out a pair. The 25-year-oldrighthander is now 3-2 over his last six starts after a 12-startwinless streak from June 16 to August 18. "It was definitely a big win," Bonser said. "We are not goingout easy. We are going to come in and try to win every game wecan, and who knows? Maybe play the role of spoiler." "Bonser gave us five hard innings," Twins manager Ron Gardenhiresaid. "(He) had a rough first one but we got through it. Ithink he just relaxed and started just nice and smooth. He waskind of overthrowing a little bit, trying to find the zone,didn't have his breaking ball and 39 pitches in the first, andit looked like we would never get out of it." Boston mounted a comeback in the late innings when Jason Varitekhomered in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4. TheRed Sox then loaded the bases with one out in the ninth againstMinnesota All-Star closer Joe Nathan, but Varitek and KevinYoukilis both struck out to end the contest. "I was able to concentrate, keep making pitches and fortunatelywas able to get a big punchout against him (Varitek), and thenobviously Youkilis, another great hitter who has a great eye soI really wanted to work ahead of him," Nathan said. "We gave ourselves a real good opportunity in the ninth, in theeighth too, but Nathan made some real good pitches when he hadto," Boston manager Terry Francona said. Three Twins relievers bridged the gap to Nathan, who pitched thefinal 1 1/3 innings to earn his 36th save of the season. To add injury to insult, Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury wasremoved from the game in the fifth inning with cramping in hisright calf.
