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| Jim Rogash/Getty Images |
Stephen Drew homered and then doubled in the winning run in the 11th to spark
the Red Sox to a 6-5 victory over the Twinkies at Fenway last night. Finally seeming comfortable at the plate after the concussion he suffered in Spring Training, Drew has been an increasingly effective force both offensively and defensively. His bat did most of the talking last night, as he saved the team from a gut-wrenching loss to a Minnesota team that's a game and a half behind Cleveland.
Joel Hanrahan blew a ninth-inning save by yielding another HR, and it looked like Boston would squander a night of successive comebacks.
Clay Buchholz was curiously ineffective in six laborious innings—giving up four earned runs on seven hits. The righty did strike out nine, however. One can only speculate what psychological impact
"SpitGate" had on his performance. In addition to Drew's shot, the Red Sox got HRs from
Shane Victorino (his first in a Boston uniform) and
Dustin Pedroia (his first of 2013). The win moved the Sox to a full two-game lead over the idle Orioles and Empire.
