Minnesota’s Nick Gordon celebrates while crossing home plate after hitting a grand slam against the Boston Red Sox in the fifth inning Tuesday night in Minneapolis. Abbie Parr/Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS —– Nick Gordon hit his first grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, Jake Cave and Gary Sanchez also homered, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 10-5 on Tuesday night.
Gordon lined a two-run double in the first inning and followed with a drive to the upper deck in right field in the fifth to lead Minnesota to its fifth straight win.
The Twins trail AL Central-leading Cleveland by 1 1/2 games.
Michael Fulmer (5-5) worked 1 1/3 innings of relief with two strikeouts.
Kutter Crawford (3-6) surrendered five runs – four earned – on four hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings for Boston, which lost its third straight and 7 of 9.
Gordon’s homer was the lone hit in an inning of miscues for the Red Sox in the fifth.
Alex Verdugo dropped a fly ball in right field. Crawford then walked Max Kepler. Ryan Brasier entered and hit Jose Miranda with a pitch to load the bases for Gordon.
Gordon, the 6-foot, 160-pound former first-round pick, has helped Minnesota stay in playoff contention while dealing with injuries. Originally a shortstop, Gordon has played all over the outfield and infield, and the grand slam was his sixth homer of the season.
As he went to the field for the next half-inning, Gordon’s teammates stayed in the dugout while the public address announcer told the crowd it was Gordon’s first career grand slam. Gordon waved during an unexpected curtain call before his teammates took the field.
The Twins came from behind to win for the fourth straight game.
Boston scored three times in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. Tommy Pham and Xander Bogaerts had RBI singles and another run scored on a wild pitch from Fulmer.
NOTES: The Red Sox completed an Aug. 1 trade with the Chicago White Sox by acquiring minor league right-hander Taylor Broadway. The deal included catcher Reese McGuire going to Boston with left-hander Jake Diekman heading to Chicago. Broadway, 25, will head to Double-A Portland. A sixth-round draft pick in 2021, he went 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 37 relief appearances for Double-A Birmingham. … 2B Trevor Story was in the lineup for the second straight day.
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