FORT MYERS, Fla. - A strong, consistent offense spearheaded by Jarren Duran was the dominant force behind the Boston Red Sox (13-8) in a 8-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins (6-13); backed by a stellar outing from starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock.
Duran brought the fire to the plate early, garnering a two-RBI single on a line drive to right field to put Boston on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Following Duran’s lead, Rafael Devers singled to center field on a line drive to bring another run home and extend the score to 3-0 going into the third.
To support Duran’s offensive performances,Whitlock dominated on the mound through 4.1 innings pitched. He tallied five strikeouts and allowed only one walk before receiving an uproar of applause on his way back to the dugout.
After a quiet third and fourth innings, Devers extended Boston’s lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth after slamming a fly ball to right center field, marking his third home run of the spring. C.J. Cron singled to right field to send Trevor Story to the plate, tacking on one more run in the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Minnesota’s bats came alive and threatened Boston’s lead. Home runs from Alex Kirilloff and Christian Vazquez, followed by a two-RBI single for Michael Helman, and an RBI double for Willi Castro tied the game at five.
However, Duran responded quickly by launching a two-run homer over the fence to give Boston back the lead with his first home run of the spring.
The Twins offense fell silent for the remainder of the contest, and the Red Sox tacked on one more run with a home run by Jamie Westbrook in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win.
Felix Cepeda was awarded the win, after allowing only one walk across a third of an innings pitched, and Lucas Luetge the save with a strikeout in his lone inning of work. Scott Blewet leaves JetBlue with the loss after giving up one hit, two runs, and a home run during his outing.
Tomorrow, the Red Sox return to JetBlue for the Spring Breakout game against Atlanta. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.
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