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Twins rally in ninth, edge Red Sox

May 11, 2008 - 3:43 AM By Anthony Maggio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - With Sean Casey and Alex Cora both ready to come off the disabled list, Jed Lowrie could soon be sent back to Class AAA Portland.

He made sure to make an impression before he leaves.

After finding out he was starting just three hours before game time, the rookie shortstop snapped an 0-for-11 streak and finished with a career-high three hits, two runs scored and his first major league home run as the Boston Red Sox topped the Minnesota Twins, 5-2, on Saturday at the Metrodome.

Lowrie finished a triple short of the cycle and his home run - the second of back-to-back round-trippers after Coco Crisp hit his first of the season to lead off the seventh inning - gave Boston the lead for good.

"It's something I can't control," Lowrie said of his possibly looming demotion. "As a young player on this team, we've got so many good players and veteran players that my job is to just help whenever I can."

His home run helped make a winner of Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-0), who allowed two runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. The Red Sox are 10-0 in Matsuzaka's last 10 starts dating back to September 22, 2007.

Glen Perkins (0-1) was saddled with the loss for Minnesota in his first career start and decision. The lefthander gave up three runs - all on solo home runs - with nine hits allowed and three strikeouts in six-plus innings.

Boston finished with a season-high four home runs, all of them solo blasts.

Trailing 2-1 entering the seventh inning, Crisp hit his first home run since September 6, 2007 on a 3-1 pitch to knot the score before Lowrie got enough of a low curveball to hit it a few rows up in the left field bleachers. Lowrie got the ball back, but only after a Josh Beckett autographed ball was given in return.

"Apparently his signed ball is worth more than my first home run," Lowrie said.

Mike Lowell added a solo blast off Brian Bass in the eighth inning and Dustin Pedroia plated Lowrie with an RBI single in the ninth to give the Red Sox a three-run cushion. Kevin Youkilis' sixth homer in his last seven games accounted for Boston's first run in the second inning.

Hideki Okajima threw a perfect eighth inning and Jonathan Papelbon worked around a Mike Lamb single off speaker wires hanging from the Metrodome roof for his 11th save in 13 chances this season. Papelbon had blown saves and losses in his two previous appearances, including Friday's game against Minnesota.

"Pap's confidence is not anything we worry about," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He was out there today ready to go. If he's in the game it means we have a lead, that's what's good."

Matsuzaka nearly let the Twins open up a big lead early in the game, but managed to pitch out of a second-inning mess.

The righthander walked Michael Cuddyer to lead off the frame, and after recording an out gave up consecutive singles to Delmon Young and Lamb to load the bases. Matsuzaka struck out Adam Everett before walking in a run against Carlos Gomez. Matt Tolbert followed with a hard line drive right at Youkilis at first base to leave the bases loaded.

The righthander gave up a leadoff double to Tolbert in the fifth inning and an RBI single to Justin Morneau, but retired the final seven batters he faced.

"The first run against me was definitely not ideal, but once it was in it was a new ballgame and I tried to focus on the next batter," Matsuzaka said through an interpreter. "The obvious difference from my previous starts was my feel for the ball. Its hard to put it into words, but if I can have that sort of feel going forward, that's the typical result you can expect."

Matsuzaka didn't quite have the feel for a pitch to Joe Mauer in the third inning that jumped out of his hand during the delivery and eventually rolled across home plate for a ball. He struck out Mauer on the next pitch.

"Nice changeup, huh?" Matsuzaka said without an interpreter.

Still, Boston's seventh victory in its last nine games didn't come easy, thanks to a decent outing from Perkins.

"His fastball was jumping, (he threw some) great sinkers against some good hitters," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He gave us a great opportunity to win. It's what we were hoping for."

Lowell, Youkilis, Pedroia and Jason Varitek all joined Lowrie with multi-hit games, while David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez combined to go 0-for-9 with a walk and a double-play grounder.

Lamb was the only Twin with multiple hits (three) as Minnesota saw its eight-game home winning streak come to an end.