BOSTON 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN BOSTON

Date:  Wednesday, May 19.

Batting star:  Denard Span was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Scott Baker pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and and one walk and striking out four.  Brian Duensing retired all four men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Clay Buchholz pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out seven.  Adrian Beltre was 2-for-4.  Victor Martinez was 2-for-4.  David Ortiz was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth.

The game:  The Red Sox put two in the first, but other than that there were no threats until the fourth.  Span led off the top of the fourth with a double and scored on Joe Mauer's one-out double.  In the bottom of the inning, however, Martinez singled and Ortiz hit a two-out two-run homer to put Boston up 2-1.

In the sixth, the first two Red Sox were retired.  But then Beltre, Jeremy Hermida, and Bill Hall hit consecutive singles to give Boston a 3-1 lead.

The Twins tried to rally in the ninth.  Span led off with an infield single, went to second on defensive indifference, and scored on a pair of ground outs to cut the lead to 3-2.  Justin Morneau then walked and Michael Cuddyer singled, moving the tying run to second base with Jim Thome up to bat.  The dramatic ending fizzled, though, as Thome grounded to second and the game was over.

WP:  Buchholz (5-3).  LP:  Baker (4-4).  S:  Daniel Bard (1).

Notes:  Brendan Harris was at shortstop in place of the injured J. J. Hardy.  Nick Punto was holding down third base, as Danny Valencia had not yet been called up from AAA.  Jason Kubel was in left and Cuddyer in right, with Delmon Young on the bench.

Morneau was leading the team in batting at .365.  He would finish at .345, but would have his season cut short in early July due to injury.  Mauer was batting .356.  He would finish the season at .327.

Boston's closer was Jonathan Papelbon, but as he had pitched in two consecutive games, Bard was asked to come in and close.  This was one of only three saves he had in 2010 and one of only five he had in his career.  He was a solid reliever from 2009-2011, but then developed injury problems, and despite repeated comeback attempts he was never effective again.  His brother, Luke Bard, was a Twins farmhand.

Record:  The Twins were 24-16, in first place in the American League Central, one game ahead of Detroit.  They would finish 94-68, in first place, six games ahead of Chicago.

The Red Sox were 21-20, in fourth place in the American League East, 8.5 games behind Tampa Bay.  They would finish 89-73, in third place, seven games behind Tampa Bay.