BOSTON _ It had been a quiet week for Miguel Sano and Max Kepler. Neither of them played much of a role in the sweep of Cleveland, and Fenway Park wasn't any more exciting for the Twins' middle-of-the-lineup youngsters.
That changed Wednesday. No surprise, then, that the Twins' luck against the Red Sox did, too.
Sano broke an 0-for-16 skid with a run-scoring double, Kepler turned around a 1-for-16 weeks with an RBI single and a two-run homer, and the Twins held on for a 4-1 victory before 37,487 fans in Fenway Park.
The Twins had scored in only three of 18 innings here, and never more than a run an inning. That changed quickly, with a two-out first-inning rally that staked Minnesota to its first lead against the Red Sox in five games. Joe Mauer doubled off the wall against reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, and Sano followed by smashing a line drive down the left field line for a double of his own.
"It's kind of obvious: If [Sano] is going well, it helps our cause because he's an impact player," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "You've going to have some ups and downs through the year. I don't think it's All-Star related or fatigue-related. He's just been in a little bit of a funk as of late."
Same with Kepler, who has sat out a number of games lately because the Twins have faced an unusual number of left-handers. With the right-hander Porcello on the mound, though, the 24-year-old Kepler was restored to the middle of the order, and it paid off right away. Kepler followed Sano's double by poking a looper over second baseman Dustin Pedroia's head into right field, and Sano easily scored the inning's second run, the Twins' first multi-run inning in their last 25.
Porcello quieted Minnesota's bats for four innings, but when he walked Sano on four pitches to open the sixth inning, Kepler was waiting to pounce. He fouled off an outside fastball, but when the next pitch was another fastball, low and in the middle of the plate, Kepler didn't miss. He smacked a low line drive that carried over the fence and deflected off the top of the Red Sox bullpen, his first home run since June 15.
That was all the offense the Twins could manage, but it was enough for rookie Adalberto Mejia and the Twins beleaguered bullpen. Mejia hasn't gone deep into a game lately _ he hasn't completed six innings since June 1 _ but the quality of his outings has been improving. The left-hander limited Cleveland to two hits over five innings last Friday, and he kept working his way out of trouble in his Fenway Park debut, too.
Mejia gave up five hits and walked only one batter before being relieved with two outs in the sixth inning, his pitch count having reached 101. But none of those Boston baserunners scored. Tyler Duffey surrendered a run on a single, two walks and a groundout in the seventh to spoil the shutout, but Taylor Rogers snuffed that jam, and Brandon Kintzler finished up in the ninth to earn his 21st save _ tying him with Boston's own Craig Kimbrel for the AL lead.
