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MINNEAPOLIS -- Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz thought for a second when asked how fun it is to watch Xander Bogaerts, in the midst of a breakout season, play when he's as hot as he is right now. "That guy is out of his mind," Ortiz said with a smile.
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Bogaerts remained red hot Friday, racking up four hits, including a three-run homer, to lead Boston to an 8-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Target Field.
Bogaerts' four-hit night was his first of the season and eighth of his career. He leads the majors with 88 hits this season and raised his batting average to .349.
"He's having an unbelievable season. Everything he hits, he's hitting it on the barrel," said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "He's finding ways to drive the ball at huge times and in huge situations. He's been great for us."
Boston also got 7 1/3 strong innings from right-hander Steven Wright, who held the Twins without a run through seven innings and improved to 4-2 away from Fenway Park this season. Wright hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in any of his six road starts this season and has won his last four starts overall.
Wright (7-4) allowed just one unearned run on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts, lowering his season ERA to 2.20.
"I felt pretty good. I didn't feel great early on, but once I got my timing down, everything was working pretty good," Wright said. "When you get run support like that, it makes it a little bit easier to go out there and just throw strikes."
Pedroia had three hits for Boston, knocked in a run and also scored a run, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest active streak in the majors.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits, including a two-run triple.
Boston pounded out 16 hits, with eight of its nine starters registering at least one hit.
Robbie Grossman had a hit and walked twice for the Twins. He has reached base safely in 19 of 20 games since joining the club on May 19. Grossman also knocked in Minnesota's only run on an RBI groundout off Wright in the eighth inning.
Twins starter Tyler Duffey was roughed up for six runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking none and striking out three.
"He had to pitch out of some jams early (thanks to) some of the mistakes we made, and he picked us up," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "Even when I took him out there, he got a fairly weak ground ball that found a hole. A little more one way or the other and it could've been a double play to get him off the field."
Duffey (2-5) has allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last five starts and carries an 8.36 ERA over that span.
The starting pitchers were on point early before Bogaerts' seventh homer in the fifth inning opened the scoring.
The Red Sox had a chance to draw first blood one inning earlier, following an error by Twins first baseman Byung Ho Park, who fumbled a routine throw from third that allowed Boston to put runners at the corners with one out.
Duffey followed by striking out Bradley and coaxing a groundout to first by Travis Shaw.
"Anytime you're at this level and you give a major league team an extra out, usually you've got a chance to capitalize on it," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "There were a couple of times there in the third and fourth innings where we didn't take advantage. But it started to click for us there in the fifth."
Minnesota wasn't so lucky the second time around as Dozier's gaffe kept the fifth inning alive.
A one-out infield single by Christian Vazquez set up Mookie Betts, who grounded to third baseman Trevor Plouffe. He fired to second for one, but Dozier dropped the transfer.
Instead of getting out of the inning with a double play, Pedroia singled to right field before Bogaerts blasted a 0-1 fastball from Duffey 430 feet into the bullpens located beyond the left-center field fence.
"If guys like that get chances, they're a good hitting team. You've seen them on ESPN all season long," Duffey said. "I left one over the middle to Bogaerts for the homer. I was trying to go in and get the ground ball there. And that next inning they got a little bit of momentum and they just kept rolling with it."
Wright navigated around trouble in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with two outs, but Joe Mauer grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
NOTES: David Ortiz was honored in a ceremony before the game. Ortiz began his major league career in Minnesota, debuting with the Twins in 1997 before being released and signing with the Red Sox following the 2002 season. This weekend marks Ortiz's final trip to the Twin Cities. ... Minnesota RHP J.T. Chargois was recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Chargois has a combined 1.13 ERA with 11 saves and 34 strikeouts in 24 innings between Rochester and Double-A Chattanooga this season. ... Twins RHP Phil Hughes was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right knee. Hughes sustained the injury in the eighth inning on Thursday when he was hit on a comebacker by the Miami's J.T. Realmuto. It was Hughes' first appearance of the season out of the bullpen after compiling a 5.97 ERA in 11 starts to begin the 2016 campaign. ... Twins RHP Trevor May was placed on the 15-day disabled list with lower back spasms. May did not pitch between June 2 through Tuesday and allowed all three men he faced to reach and eventually score on Thursday. An effective pitcher out of the bullpen for the Twins last season, May has struggled this year with an 0-2 record and 6.08 ERA in 26 2/3 innings.
