Twins 4, Red Sox 2: Mostly lackluster, though it got interesting in the ninth

[Mickey the Mouth]

May 23, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) is restrained by players after a confrontation after being tagged out at home plate during the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Recap​

Jovani Moran had the responsibility to keep the Twins in check for the first inning in order to provide a soft landing for Brayan Bello in his bulk-pitching era. Well, today wasn’t that day: Moran allowed hits to the first three Twins batters, then a run-scoring sacrifice fly immediately after that. Despite needing all the help he could get, Bello entered the game with a 2-0 deficit.

Bellow twice got into a bases loaded jam and threw 20+ pitches.

The Sox bats were silent until the fourth. This inning also featured a clearing of the benches as the inning ended, after Willson Contreras ran through Twins catcher Victor Caratini but didn’t beat the throw.

The fifth inning featured Contreras’ first error of the season, and an extremely close play at the plate that was challenged but ultimately didn’t go the Sox way. Bello didn’t do himself any favors in the inning either, loading the bases for the second time (albeit with help from Contreras’ E) in another high-pitch inning. He also thoughtlessly deflected a ball in play, which looked like it was headed toward being cleanly fielded by Mayer, but scored a run instead. Two more runs crossed the plate, 4-1 Twins.

Though Bello didn’t melt down, it wasn’t a good outing. That will probably be classified as progress for him, but it’s not enough, friends. Not enough.

The Sox were unable to capitalize on an error and walk that opened the seventh inning.

But wait! Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Chad Tracy pulled all the levers, leaving just one player on the bench. Caleb Durbin came in as a pinch runner and took second on “defensive indifference.” This said a lot about this game, I thought, but some drama arrived in the form of three walks, including one that brought in a run. With the bases still loaded, it was very close to happening again, but Jarren Duran ultimately struck out to end the game. He threw a Hail Mary ABS challenge at the problem, but lost the challenge…and the Sox, the game.

This last-minute flurry of excitement masked what was a really lackluster game overall.

Studs​

Relief pitching not named Brayan Bello​

In their three combined innings of work, Tyler Samaniego and Ryan Watson gave up one hit and no runs, with three strikeouts thrown in (all Watson). This may look more like damning them with faint praise rather than covering them with glory, but this was the high-water mark today. They needed to stabilize after Bello and offer the offense the opportunity to wake up. They did their part, but the offense didn’t come through.

Fenway First​

A woman—Jen Pawol—umpired home plate for the first time.

Duds​

Offense​

The common refrain for the 2026 season. There was nothing particularly egregious, simply not enough base runners or movement on the basepaths. 5H, 11 SO, 6 BB on the night—and the Sox got lucky in the ninth with some big nerves by the Twins relievers. Blah.

Play of the Game​

The Twins’ Larnach scored on a sacrifice fly. Connor Wong thought he had him at the plate but none of the camera angles definitively cleared up the mystery, and the challenge was unsuccessful. Why is this the play of the game? Because it provides a glimpse of the frustration of this game; there were no heroics, nothing to truly admire…just several screwy moments that might have gone a different way, and this is one.

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