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Beckett hopes to find win column as Red Sox wrap set with Twins

May 9, 2011 - 2:32 PM (Sports Network) - Josh Beckett hasn't tasted victory in almost a month and hopes to get his fill tonight, when he leads the Boston Red Sox into the finale of a four-game series versus the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park.

Beckett has recorded three straight no-decisions since beating Toronto on April 16, and will make his seventh start of the season Monday. He previously took the mound in Wednesday's 5-3 loss versus the LA Angels of Anaheim and threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings to remain at 2-1 on the season. Beckett was able to lower his earned run average from 2.65 to 2.35 in the process.

The right-hander has been solid at home this season, going 2-0 in three starts, and has fared well throughout his career against Minnesota. Beckett has faced the Twins four times and is 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA against them.

Boston recorded a 9-5 win on Sunday -- its second in a row and fifth in eight tries -- and received a big day at the plate from Adrian Gonzalez, who finished with three hits, including a home run, two runs scored and a pair of RBI on his 29th birthday. Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits as well, while J.D. Drew and Jed Lowrie both knocked in a pair of runs to help the Red Sox improve to 5-5 on an 11-game homestand.

"Regardless of the fact that it's my birthday, it's good to get three hits and get a 'W' more importantly," Gonzalez said. "It's one of those things that once we get into the later part of May, we all get enough at-bats where we're going to start feeling better and things are going to start clicking better."

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed three runs in the first inning before settling down for his third win of the season (3-3). Matsuzaka allowed a total of four runs and five hits in six innings and struck out four batters. Matt Albers tossed two innings of one-run ball in relief and Daniel Bard closed the door in the ninth.

The Red Sox will visit Toronto for two games and the despised Yankees for three more on an upcoming road trip.

Minnesota will put the finishing touches on a nine-game road trip and dropped to 3-5 on the journey following Sunday's second straight loss in Beantown.

Danny Valencia homered and drove in three runs, Jason Kubel went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and Trevor Plouffe scored twice for the Twins, who have lost eight of 11 games overall and got a rough outing from starter Carl Pavano. Pavano was reached for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings of work.

"My stuff just isn't good right now," Pavano said after the game. "I'm just not getting the job done."

The Twins, who will return to the Twin Cities for five straight games versus Detroit and Toronto after this set, were scheduled to send Francisco Liriano to the mound Monday for an encore performance from his no-hitter last week against the Chicago White Sox. However, a sore throat and fatigue will keep the left-hander out of action until Tuesday.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire will instead hand the ball to Nick Blackburn this evening for his seventh start of 2011. Blackburn ended a personal four-start losing streak in last Wednesday's 3-2 win at the White Sox and held them to a run on four hits over 6 2/3 innings. Blackburn improved to 2-4 in six starts to go along with a 4.41 ERA.

Blackburn, a right-hander, is 2-1 with a 4.79 ERA in four career games (3 starts) against Boston.

Boston has won the season series against the Twins each of the last three years.