MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 8 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 11.

Batting stars:  Luis Rivas was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Jacque Jones was 3-for-5 with a triple, three runs, and two RBIs.  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a double.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a double.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Dustan Mohr was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Jeremy Giambi was 4-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth.  Manny Ramirez was 2-for-5 with a double.  Todd Walker was 2-for-5.  Nomar Garciaparra was 2-for-5.  Jason Varitek was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.  Bill Mueller was 1-for-5 with a home run, his third.  Ramiro Mendoza pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

The game:  Jones led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on LeCroy's double.  They took a commanding lead in the second.  With one out, Mohr and Pierzynski singled, Luis Rivas had an RBI double, Jones hit a two-run triple, and a ground out scored another run.  It was 5-0 Twins after two.

The lead increased in the fourth.  Pierzynski, Rivas, and Jones all singled, loading the bases with one out.  An error scored two runs and a sacrifice fly brought home a third, making the score 8-0 after four.

Mueller homered in the fifth to get the Red Sox on the board, but it was still 8-1.  And the Twins got the run back in the bottom of the fifth when Torii Hunter and Mientkiewicz singled and a ground out brought the run home, so it was 9-1 after five.

Then the Red Sox started their comeback.  It started slowly, with one run in the sixth on singles by Walker, Garciaparra, and Trot Nixon.  With one out in the seventh Giambi and Varitek homered, Johnny Damon and Walker singled, and Ramirez hit a ground-rule double to cut the lead to 9-5.  Giambi homered again in the eighth to make it 9-6.

Then came the ninth.  The first two Boston batters went out.  Garciaparra and Ramirez singled.  Kevin Millar walked, loading the bases.  Shea Hillenbrand delivered a two-run single, making the score 9-8 and putting men on first and second.  But Bill Mueller grounded to short, and the Twins held on for the win.

WP:  Brad Radke (4-3).  LP:  Derek Lowe (3-3).  S:  Eddie Guardado (8).

Notes:  Denny Hocking replaced Corey Koskie at third base in the seventh.

Jones raised his average to .353.  LeCroy was batting .308.

Hocking was 0-for-1 and was batting .105.

Radke pitched well for six innings, but his line is 6.1 innings, five runs, ten hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.  His ERA went to 5.85.

LaTroy Hawkins gave up one run in 1.2 innings to raise his ERA to 1.84.  Guardado gave up two runs in one inning to raise his ERA to 1.84.

Record:  The Twins were 20-26, in second place in the American League Central, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.