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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) – The surprising Minnesota Twins are gaining
believers every day. On Wednesday night, they convinced Pedro Martinez.
|  | | Catcher A.J. Pierzynski holds on as the Twins nail Jason Varitek at the plate. Varitek was trying to score in the second inning. |
The Twins rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-4 in 10 innings after Martinez left with a one-run lead through seven. He was very good but didn't pitch to his usual level.
"They hit some good pitches," said Martinez, who struck out
10. "I couldn't believe some of the pitches they were making contact on."
Back-to-back, two-out doubles in the ninth by Jacque Jones and A.J. Pierzynski tied the game 3-3 against Rod Beck (0-1).
With two outs and the bases loaded in the 10th, Torii Hunter hit
a soft grounder between third baseman Shea Hillenbrand and the
left-field line for a three-run double off Rolando Arrojo.
"I was thinking about hitting it up the middle," Hunter said, "but I got a sinker inside. I didn't hit it that hard, but he was playing in and it got by him."
The hit scored Matt Lawton, who had singled, and Corey Koskie and Doug Mientkiewicz, who both walked.
"We battled as hard as we could," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. "Fortunately, we got one to roll down the line. We got lucky with that."
The Twins lead the AL Central at 15-4 after posting the worst record in the league last year. They have 11 come-from-behind wins and are 6-1 in their past seven games.
"We think we can play a little bit and we're showing that right
now," Pierzynski said.
He doubled home Minnesota's first run in the second, then kept
Boston from scoring in the bottom of the inning after first baseman
Mientkiewicz made a sliding catch in foul territory.
Mientkiewicz's throw toward the plate was cut off by shortstop
Denny Hocking, who fired it to Pierzynski. The catcher held on to the ball as he was knocked over by Jason Varitek, who was out tagging up from third.
"If he doesn't make that play, we may not win," Hunter said.
Bob Wells (2-0) survived a jam in the ninth with a runner at
third. Latroy Hawkins got his sixth save after allowing Manny
Ramirez's run-scoring groundout in the 10th.
Boston fell to 14-7 and into a first-place tie with Toronto in
the AL East.
The Red Sox were one out away from a win after Beck retired the
first two Twins in the ninth. Then Jacque Jones lifted a double to left field that Troy O'Leary just missed.
"It hit my glove. I ran out of room," O'Leary said.
Pierzynski's double off the left-field wall tied the game.
"I had two outs right there and things were looking pretty good," Beck said.
That tying hit left two of baseball's best starters without a
decision after pitching seven innings each.
Martinez struck out at least 10 for the third time this season,
allowed two runs, six hits and two walks. For the Twins, Brad Radke
struck out two, walked none and gave up three runs and eight hits.
The Red Sox snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth on Ramirez's double
and O'Leary's single. Ramirez has reached base in all 21 games.
The Twins lost Tuesday night's series opener 9-4, but
Wednesday's game figured to be closer with Martinez facing Radke.
Martinez's ERA rose from 1.61 to 1.80 while Radke's went from 2.23
to 2.52.
Boston led 2-0 after just two batters as Trot Nixon doubled and Jose Offerman hit his first homer of the year. Martinez struck out
five in the first two innings, but the Twins scored in the second
when Hunter walked, advanced on a groundout and came home on
Pierzynski's double.
Minnesota tied it in the fifth. Jones singled and reached second
when O'Leary misplayed the ball for an error. Jones took third on
Pierzynski's sacrifice and scored on Luis Rivas' single.
Game notes
Hawkins extended his major league record to 20 straight
successful save opportunities at the start of his career. ...
Martinez struck out 10 or more batters for the 72nd time in his
career and 45th with the Red Sox. ... Basketball Hall of Famer John
Havlicek of the Boston Celtics attended the game. ... Minnesota DH David Ortiz struck out on four of his five at bats after entering the game fifth in the AL with a .379 batting average. ... Radke has issued three walks in 39 1/3 innings. ... Martinez increased his AL leading total to 54 strikeouts in 35 innings. He's walked just
eight.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 6
Boston 4
Anaheim 3
Cleveland 1
Baltimore 6
Detroit 4
Seattle 7
NY Yankees 5
Toronto 8
Texas 5
Tampa Bay 5
Kansas City 3
Chi. White Sox 2
Oakland 1
Atlanta 11
Houston 3
Milwaukee 7
NY Mets 2
St. Louis 5
Montreal 2
Colorado 6
Chicago Cubs 5
Arizona 10
Florida 7
Philadelphia 5
San Diego 3
Cincinnati 7
San Francisco 5
Los Angeles 6
Pittsburgh 5
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Pedro Martinez says the Twins are the best team he has faced this year.
wav: 217 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Torii Hunter knows the Twins are going to upset a lot of teams this year.
wav: 94 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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