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MINNEAPOLIS -- In a game the Boston Red Sox in which scored 15 runs and pounded out as many hits, it was a base-running play by the red-hot Xander Bogaerts that helped make the difference. Bogaerts did it all for the Red Sox on Saturday, procuring his second consecutive four-hit game in leading Boston to a 15-4 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
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With the game tied, 4-4, Bogaerts led off the sixth inning with a single. With David Ortiz at the plate and the Twins' defense shifted accordingly, the slugger hit a sharp grounder at Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, who fumbled it initially.
Dozier flipped to second for the force, but Bogaerts beat it standing up and continued on his way to third, which was left unmanned.
"Just an electrifying type of play," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "It turned the dugout on, because you don't see it often. Just a great heads-up baserunning move."
Boston flipped to first to get Ortiz, but Hanley Ramirez followed with a sacrifice fly to left, giving Boston the lead for good.
"Once I saw him miss it, I was going," Bogaerts said. "It's just instincts, I guess; just being aware in the game, being into the game. I mean, have your head up at all times and just see the game."
The Red Sox piled on late with back-to-back five-run outbursts in the eighth and ninth, punctuated by a two-run homer by Bogaerts in the eighth and two-run singles in the ninth by Chris Young and Mookie Betts.
Bogaerts, who went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in an 8-1 win on Friday, became the third player in the major leagues this season with consecutive four-hit games.
"A lot of hard contact," Farrell said. "A number of different types of pitchers. Even when the guy's throwing in the upper 90s the final at-bat, the first time he's ever seen a pitch thrown by him, it's a well-struck line drive back through the middle."
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run homer and Sandy Leon added four hits for Boston, which has won three of its last four games. Leon's two-run single capped a five-run eighth that blew the game open. Ortiz had three hits.
Boston tacked on five more in the ninth on two-run singles by Chris Young and Mookie Betts.
Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run homer for the Twins. Brian Dozier had two singles and a walk.
Minnesota has lost six of its last eight games.
Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-4), making his first start since April 22 because of a shoulder injury, allowed five runs, seven hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings.
Gibson allowed four runs in the first inning, including three on Bradley's 10th homer of the season but faced only one batter over the minimum after until the sixth.
"There were some pitches made in the first inning that were good pitches," Gibson said. "(The home run) is the one that set everything off and caused it to go from a decent outing against a really good team to a pretty below-average outing."
Said Twins manager Paul Molitor: "He had a chance to get off the field with one (run in the first). He tried to come in on Bradley and turned it into a four-run game right out of the chute."
The Twins erased their deficit during that span on Suzuki's three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth and a sacrifice fly by Trevor Plouffe in the fifth that tied the score, 4-4, against Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez.
Dozier followed Plouffe's sacrifice fly with a single that ended Rodriguez's day. The left-hander gave up four runs, six hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out four.
Boston reliever Heath Hembree (3-0) pitched an inning of shutout relief to pick up the victory.
NOTES: Twins RHP Phil Hughes will miss 6-to-8 weeks because of an impaction fracture of his left femur above the knee. Hughes was hit by a comebacker by Miami's J.T. Realmuto on Thursday. Hughes is 1-7 with a 5.95 ERA. ... Twins LHP Glen Perkins suffered a setback during his bullpen session on Tuesday and will seek a third opinion on his injured left shoulder. Perkins, who has pitched in only two games this season, has been on the disabled list since April 13. ... Boston and Minnesota will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at Target Field. The Red Sox will send right-hander Rick Porcello (7-2, 4.04 ERA) to the mound against Twins left-hander Pat Dean (1-2, 4.75).
