BOSTON _ Young Twins right-hander Tyler Duffey looked like his head was spinning as he walked off the mound in the third inning.
Boston had just collected its ninth hit off him _ four in the third inning alone _ to take a commanding lead. When he got ahead in the count, they hit him, when he got to two strikes, they hit him. When he threw good pitches, they hit him.
And that's how Duffey's run of effective pitching came to an abrupt halt on Thursday as the Red Sox cruised to a 13-2 win over the Twins in the first of a four-game series at Fenway Park.
In 21/3 innings, Duffey gave up six runs on those nine hits plus one walk without any strikeouts. It was his shortest outing since he lasted just two innings in his major league debut last season in Toronto. He had pitched at least six innings in four consecutive starts before Boston got to him.
On a warm summer night during which Rod Carew threw out the first pitch while being recognized for his heart health awareness campaign and David Ortiz began to play his final games against the team that drafted him, Duffey (5-7) found out how quickly runs can accumulate here.
Boston knocked him out of the game in the third inning and kept hammering away at the Twins bullpen. Ortiz, who is retiring at the end of the season, finished 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and four RBIs. Dustin Pedroia went 5-for-5 with three runs scored. Boston collected 17 hits.
Duffey's first pitch was knocked out of the park by Mookie Betts for a leadoff home run. His 55th and final pitch of the night was slapped to right by Jackie Bradley Jr. for an RBI double. Everything in between wasn't PG. Boston scored three runs on four hits in the first inning and three runs on four more hits in the third, including a two-run double by Xander Bogaerts.
Keeping crooked numbers off the scoreboard is a challenge for most visiting pitchers here. It's worse when the Red Sox are rolling. Boston is smelling another postseason appearance and has won 12 of its past 14 games.
Twins hitters could join Duffey in the postgame therapy session, for they flailed and flailed away at Steven Wright's knuckleball.
The All-Star retired the first 13 batters he faced until Max Kepler floated a single over third baseman Travis Shaw in the fifth. Kepler eventually scored on Robbie Grossman's groundout, and Kennys Vargas was safe at home when he rumbled in from third on a wild pitch _ although Wright was charged with an error for dropping the throw.
Bradley homered in the fifth to make it 7-2. Boston added two runs, including Ortiz's second RBI single of the night _ to go ahead 9-2. Their four-run eighth was highlighted by Ortiz's rocket to right.
Wright's knuckler comes in around 74-75 miles an hour, but he can throw a fastball 88 miles an hour. The combination was too much for the Twins to overcome. Every Twin but Kepler and Kurt Suzuki struck out. Joe Mauer and Eddie Rosario both struck out twice. Miguel Sano also struck out, making it 16 straight games in which he has fanned.
Wright (12-5) gave up two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out nine.
