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Red Sox edge Twins behind De La Rosa's gem

Jun 17, 2014 - 3:56 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Rubby De La Rosa teamed up with three relievers on a three-hit shutout as the Boston Red Sox edged the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, to open a three-game series at Fenway Park.

De La Rosa (2-2) surrendered only a Danny Santana single in the third inning and three walks over seven outstanding frames. Burke Badenhop then worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth before Koji Uehara retired the side in order in the ninth to nail down his 31st consecutive regular-season save opportunity.

A.J. Pierzynski drove in the game's only run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly that plated Daniel Nava, the only blemish on Minnesota starter Kevin Correia's six innings of work.

Correia (3-8) yielded just five hits and a walk in the hard-luck loss, the Twins' third in a row on their current road trip.

After giving up Santana's single -- in which the Twins' outfielder was caught in a rundown that ended up with teammate Sam Fuld tagged out while drifting between third base and home plate -- De La Rosa set down 13 consecutive batters to protect the 1-0 lead he was given in the fifth inning.

"He got into a much better rhythm from the second inning on," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "The adjustment was that he was able to establish his fastball. It's 93 to 98 (mph), so he's got plenty to go to."

Correia also had permitted a mere one hit prior to Nava and Stephen Drew coming through with consecutive singles that placed a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Pierzynski followed with a fly ball to left deep enough to score Nava without a throw.

Minnesota's offense finally got something going against Badenhop in the eighth, as Kurt Suzuki singled and Fuld sent him to third with a two-out double to right. Santana was then plunked on an 0-2 pitch to load the bases, but Badenhop recovered to strike out Brian Dozier and keep it a 1-0 game.

"He made really good pitches -- nothing was over the plate," said Dozier of Badenhop. "He just doubled up on a slider on the black, and I foul-tipped it for strike three."

The Twins didn't threaten Uehara in the ninth, however, with the standout closer needing just 12 pitches to record the final three outs.

Game Notes

The Twins entered the matchup having won three straight and six of their last seven matchups with the Red Sox at Fenway ... De La Rosa also tossed seven scoreless innings to defeat Tampa Bay in his season debut on May 31, but had allowed eight runs over a combined 11 1/3 innings in his previous two starts ... Drew ended 2-for-3 with a double ... Minnesota DH Kendrys Morales, who had hit safely in all six games since signing with the team earlier this month, was 0-for-4.