BOSTON — David Ortiz hit a pair of doubles and snapped a five-game stretch without an RBI as the Boston Red Sox earned a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Twins won the second game 2-0.
In the opener Ortiz, mired in a 5-for-20 slump in his previous five outings, had only one multi-hit game in his last 11 contests before Wednesday. He drove in one run and is now three RBI away from tying San Francisco Giants great Willie McCovey for 42nd on baseball’s all-time RBI list. In his 19th season, Ortiz has 1,552 RBIs.
Four Red Sox had multiple hits, with shortstop Xander Bogaerts (3-for-4) driving in two runs and second baseman Dustin Pedroia (4-for-5) and left fielder Hanley Ramirez (2-for-4) each bringing a run home. First baseman Mike Napoli added to the onslaught, hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning to cap the scoring in a 13-hit attack for Boston.
In his Fenway Park debut, Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0) picked up where he left off in his major league debut last Thursday. He struck out five in his first 2 2/3 innings to stretch his scoreless streak of 10 1/3 innings to start his career before he allowed a third-inning home run to second baseman Brian Dozier.
The 22-year-old left-hander gave up one earned run on two hits and two walks over seven innings and fanned seven for the second straight outing.
Right-hander Phil Hughes (4-5) dropped his fifth consecutive decision, surrendering five runs and 11 hits while walking one and striking out four in 4 1/3 innings for Minnesota (31-21).
Dozier (2-for-3) now has 10 home runs on the season. Third baseman Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run homer in the ninth to cut the Twins’ deficit in half.
In the nightcap, Trevor May turned in the best start of his career, tying a season high with nine strikeouts and holding the Red Sox to two hits in seven innings to power the Twins to a 2-0 win.
The 25-year-old right-hander had never held an opponent scoreless in 18 career starts entering the game and has now struck out 23 batters in his last three starts. May (4-3) threw 98 pitches — 70 for strikes — and snapped a streak of four straight starts with three or more earned runs.
Catcher Chris Hermann went 1-for-3 and drove in a run and shortstop Danny Santana’s safety squeeze brought home a run for the Twins, who had five hits in the nightcap.
Left-hander Glen Perkins kept the Red Sox bats quiet in the ninth for his 20th save.
Rick Porcello (4-5) bounced back from two bad outings with a quality start but was still a hard-luck loser for Boston. The right-hander threw 101 pitches in eight innings, giving up two earned runs and five hits and walking none while striking out five.
Pedroia and Carlos Peguero had the only hits for the Red Sox. Ortiz was 0-for-3.
Rosario singled to center to lead off the inning and stole second, setting the table for Hermann’s one-out double off the wall in left that Peguero misplayed on a bounce. Rosario scored from second to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Hermann moved to third on center fielder Aaron Hicks’ single to left and crossed the plate later in the inning on a sacrifice bunt from Santana, making it 2-0.
Peguero gave the Red Sox some life with a two-out single to center in the third that snapped an 0-for-19 spell at the plate and broke up a string of five straight strikeouts in May.
Pedroia lined a double to left, putting the tying runs in scoring position for right fielder Brock Holt, but his 6-3 groundout quelled the potential rally for Boston.
Ortiz didn’t seem particularly inspired by the Red Sox’s offensive sparks at the end of the third inning. He didn’t run out a pop fly to center leading off the fourth, barely jogging halfway down the first base line before heading back to the dugout.