Kenta Maeda threw 86 pitches on Wednesday, but those weren't what got him in trouble. It was an 87th throw, meant for third baseman Luis Arraez, that cost the Twins.
Maeda fielded a second-inning sacrifice bunt by Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki, whirled and fired the ball over Arraez's head and down the left-field line, the trigger that turned a mild jam into a three-run inning and eventually earned the Twins their fourth consecutive loss, 3-2 in the seven-inning Game 1 of a doubleheader at Target Field.
Boston won its eighth consecutive game.
Jose Berrios faces lefhander Boston lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez in Game 2.
Maeda pitched into the fifth inning in his third start of the season, and while Red Sox batters reached base in each of them, only in the second was he unable to escape without a run. Former Twin Marwin Gonzalez opened the inning by dropping a pop fly in front of left fielder Alex Kirilloff, who was playing the position for the first time in the major leagues. A wild pitch moved Gonzalez up a base, and he scored when Hunter Renfroe lined a single to left.
Frenchy Cordero then hit a popup behind shortstop that nobody could get to in time, and it fell for a hit. That's when Plawecki tried to bunt the runners over — and Maeda made the costliest mistake of the game, fielding the ball quickly but rushing his throw to Arraez. Renfroe scored on the overthrow, Cordero scored when Christian Arroyo followed with another single, and the Twins would have allowed another run if Jorge Polanco hadn't cut down Cordero at the plate on an Alex Verdugo ground ball.
The Red Sox failed to add any more runs despite piling up 11 hits and three walks over seven innings, going an astonishing 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position. But the Twins couldn't take advantage, going 1-for-7 in promising situations themselves. That hit was a single up the middle by Polanco in the third inning, scoring Ryan Jeffers and fill-in shortstop JT Riddle in front of him.
Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi was hardly threatened after that, however, retiring eight of the last nine hitters he faced in his five-inning start. Darwinzon Hernandez retired all three hitters he faced in the sixth, setting up the Twins' last chance in the seventh.
Jake Cave led off by drawing a walk against Red Sox closer Matt Barnes, and he stole second after Ryan Jeffers struck out. Miguel Sano lined a pitch down the left-field line that fell just a few feet foul, but struck out on a 97-mph fastball. Arraez ended his 0-for-4 game with a line drive to left field that Verdugo dove to catch, preserving the Red Sox' win.
