Chris Sale posts 10th win as Boston Red Sox top Minnesota Twins

BOSTON -- Chris Sale didn't look thrilled as his manager approached the mound to take him out in the seventh inning Monday night.

The left-hander accepted the decision but later said, "Never," when asked if he wanted to come out of the game.

In the end, it all worked out.

"He probably didn't want to come out of that game," Boston manager John Farrell said after his Red Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 4-1 in the first of four games between the contenders Monday night.

Farrell had his reasons.

Sale was at 108 pitches. With Boston ahead 2-1 and runners on first and second with one out in the seventh, Chris Gimenez came to the plate. Gimenez homered off Sale in the third inning and was 4-for-8 with two homers against the Boston ace.

Heath Hembree came on, induced a double-play grounder, and Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel were perfect in the eighth and ninth to seal the win.

"For some reason, certain hitters see some pitchers better than others," Farrell said. "It's a small number of at-bats by Gimenez, but he's seen (Sale) well, and there's been some extra-base production in there.

"I felt like that was a spot where he's coming to the end of the line, 110 pitches into the ninth inning just five days ago, the way Gimenez had swung the bat a couple of at-bats previous. ... Heath comes in and makes a key cutter pitch."

The double play was started by Tzu-Wei Lin, making his debut at third base for the Red Sox. Boston will continue, as Farrell says, "mixing and matching" at the position.

The loss dropped the surprising Twins a half-game behind the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. Minnesota (39-35) had its three-game winning streak stopped.

The Red Sox (42-34) remain percentage points behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Sale (10-3) worked 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball to go to 9-1 since April 27. He walked two and struck out nine, yielding four hits.

"There's a couple of things I could have done to extend my outing, but in the end, it worked out," Sale said. "Heater (Hembree) really picked me up."

Boston's Mitch Moreland hit a solo homer and sacrifice fly, taking over the team's RBI lead with 41, while Dustin Pedroia drove in a run with a single, one of his two hits.

Barnes, who has been struggling, cashed in on some adjustments he made on the side to strike out the side on 11 pitches in the eighth, and Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 21st save.

The Red Sox, who scored two in the first off Jose Berrios (7-2) and added on two in the seventh off Berrios and two relievers, won for the second time in five games. The Twins lost for the second time in their past six.

Berrios gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven.

"I was proud of how Jose hung in there," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He kept us in the game and we battled, we got a homer to cut it in half and had an opportunity there to at least tie the game, and we didn't get it done and they were able to tack on."

Molitor was not pleased with a strike call against a squaring Jorge Polanco with two on and nobody out in the seventh. Polanco appeared to have pulled his bat back on an inside pitch, only to have first base umpire Jeff Kellogg call a strike. Polanco wound up striking out as Sale's last batter.

"I thought it was a huge call. I'm not sure what Jeff saw," Molitor said. "You square around and the pitch is coming at your leg -- it's not that easy to move the bat and get out of the way at the same time. It was an obvious non-attempt from the way I saw it, and it changed the at-bat."

Moreland homered, his 12th, off Berrios after a double play grounder scored the first run. Moreland then followed Pedroia's RBI single with his sac fly in the seventh. He has knocked in 15 runs during a 16-game home on-base streak.

Moreland has homered in three straight games for the second time this season.

"He's become kind of a bedrock in our lineup," Farrell said.

The homer was only the second off Berrios since May 24, leading to the right-hander's first June loss after four wins.

Berrios had won seven of his first eight starts and had yielded two runs in each of his four June starts -- all wins.

Left fielder Eddie Rosario made three nifty catches to help keep the Twins in the game.

NOTES: Red Sox DH Hanley Ramirez was out with a bruised left knee sustained when he was hit by a pitch Sunday. ... Twins 1B Joe Mauer got the night off as a starter, coming on late -- manager Paul Molitor resting him with the Red Sox throwing three straight lefties. ... LHP Hector Santiago comes off the disabled list to start for the Twins against Boston LHP Drew Pomeranz on Tuesday. RHP Dillon Gee, who has yet to appear in a game with the Twins, was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. ... Red Sox INF Jhonny Peralta reported to Triple-A Pawtucket and will start Tuesday, as will a rehabbing Pablo Sandoval, the pair alternating third base and DH roles game by game. ... Boston LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, on the disabled list with a right knee problem, went through fielding drills pregame as he closes in on a Thursday rehab start. ... Red Sox LHP Henry Owens, once a top prospect, was demoted from Triple-A to Double-A.