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Twins-Red Sox Preview

May 19, 2010 - 6:30 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Minnesota (24-14) at Boston (19-20), 7:10 p.m. EDT

A late rally helped the Boston Red Sox finish their road trip by avoiding a fourth straight loss, but their task won't get much easier as they return home.

Boston's next three opponents are in first place in their respective divisions, and the Minnesota Twins will be motivated to snap a five-game losing streak at Fenway Park as they open a two-game set Wednesday night.

After losing their last two in Detroit and falling under .500 thanks to a late meltdown in Monday's 11-9 loss at New York, the Red Sox (20-20) were in danger of another defeat Tuesday, when they trailed 5-0.

But Boston tied the game with four runs in the eighth inning and went ahead on Jeremy Hermida's two-run double off Mariano Rivera in the ninth. Jonathan Papelbon bounced back from a blown save to hold off the Yankees for a 7-6 win.

"It's a hard way to play this way, no question," Boston manager Terry Francona said of the up-and-down series.

The fourth-place Red Sox's mediocre record would be even worse if not for several big comebacks. They have five wins after trailing by at least four runs, tied for the most in the majors with Detroit. No other team has more than one such victory.

Boston won't want to spot its next few foes big leads. After hosting Minnesota (24-15) for two games, the Red Sox visit Philadelphia and Tampa Bay for three each.

They'll almost certainly need to improve their pitching in order to gain ground during that stretch.

Despite featuring Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester, Boston's rotation ranks 28th in the majors with a 5.18 ERA, and young Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.46 ERA) leads the group in that category.

The 25-year-old issued five walks for the second straight start Friday night at Detroit, but held the Tigers to one run and three hits in six innings of a 7-2 win.

"I guess you could say I was more effectively wild than perhaps I have ever been in my career," Buchholz told the Red Sox's official website. "But health is the important thing, and right now, I feel really good."

Minnesota's Scott Baker (4-3, 4.93) may have felt worse after allowing five runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings of Friday's 8-4 defeat at Yankee Stadium.

He'll try to bounce back at Fenway Park, but he wasn't any better in his last visit to Boston, allowing six runs - including three home runs - in 4 2-3 innings of a 10-1 loss on April 22, 2009.

The Twins have posted a 9.86 ERA while losing five straight at Fenway, and they've also had problems with pitching during their current road trip. They allowed four homers in an 11-2 loss at Toronto on Tuesday, raising their ERA to 6.86 during a 2-3 start to the trip.

Thanks in part to a lineup that ranks second in the majors in on-base percentage (.356), Minnesota still has a two-game lead in the AL Central.

Justin Morneau is 12 for 25 (.480) with four homers and eight RBIs in his last seven games, and Joe Mauer has a trio of three-hit performances and a .423 average in his last seven.

Michael Cuddyer had two homers and five RBIs as the Twins took two of three from Boston in the inaugural series at Target Field from April 12-15.