Daniel Nava News

It took longer than they would have liked, but the Red Sox finished out a sweep of the Twins with a 5-1 victory at Target Field on Sunday.

Less than a week ago it seemed as if the Red Sox's 20-8 start was a fluke. Their bats were stagnant, their bullpen was hobbled and their starting pitching was only reliable three out of five days.

The Red Sox won going away on Saturday night, beating the Twins, 12-5, at Target Field, but one play in the middle innings truly seemed to turn the tide -- and turned catcher Ryan Lavarnway upside down in the process.

If the 2012 Red Sox were a human being and a full body scan were taken of the then dying patient doctors would have made an alarming discovery; no spine.

David Ortiz sure likes hitting against the Twins. As if he hadn't done it enough over the last decade, Ortiz tormented his former team again on Saturday night, clubbing two home runs and driving in six in Boston's 12-5 win over Minnesota at Target Field.

Update from Peter Abraham - Andrew Bailey pitched an inning for Triple A Pawtucket.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Will Middlebrooks had a three-run double off closer Fernando Rodney with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted the Boston Red Sox past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Thursday night.

The Red Sox have won three straight after losing 10 of their previous 14 games, while the Twins have lost three in a row after winning six of nine.

Both Shane Victorino and Mike Napoli are out of the Red Sox lineup for the series opener with the Twins at Target Field.

It's hard to believe Stephen Drew's slump was such a big topic of conversation earlier in the season.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Will Middlebrooks had a three-run double off closer Fernando Rodney with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted the Boston Red Sox past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Thursday night.

When Felix Doubront takes the mound for the Red Sox on Thursday night at Tropicana Field, it will be a lot more than just another start.

About the only silver lining when you have a season in which your team becomes completely unhinged and finishes dead last is the draft the next year.

Although they are an ugly 2-8 in their last 10 games, the Red Sox are off to a good start in 2013, at least by recent franchise standards.

It's certainly been a rough stretch here for the Red Sox, who have suffered their first downturn of the season after a hot April.

Bottom 8th, 1 out: Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 3: Pedro Ciriaco, who came into the game in the seventh as a defensive replacement for Mike Carp at first base, stroked his first homer of the season, a lead-off solo shot off Esmil Rogers, who started the inning in relief of Aaron Loup .

Boston Red Sox right-hander Ryan Dempster has been a major part of the club's resurgence, even if his record doesn't show it.

The Minnesota Twins have to do some old-fashioned things, like operate within a budget, so spending more money than the competition is not an option.

BOSTON WHEN Jon Lester reached the majors in June of 2006, the 22-year-old southpaw joined a starting rotation that included Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, David Wells and Josh Beckett - along with the more than 1,700 games, nearly 9,300 innings, nine All-Star nominations and six world championships already between them.

Jonny Gomes hasn't started against a right-handed pitcher in almost three weeks, but manager John Farrell said on Saturday that Gomes is not strictly a platoon player.