Twins, Red Sox primed for high-scoring series in Boston
The Minnesota Twins haven’t just been the “Bomba Squad” this season.
They’ve also been road warriors.
Minnesota is hitting an MLB-leading .280 on the road heading into a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox.
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The Twins are up to 149 home runs on the road, 17 more than the second-place New York Yankees, with an MLB-leading .517 slugging percentage.
There should be plenty of runs to go around at Fenway Park.
Minnesota leads the majors with 2,449 total bases this season, while Boston ranks second with 2,350.
They’ve done it in different ways.
Rafael Devers (316), Xander Bogaerts (305) and J.D. Martinez (294) rank 1-2-3 in the American League in total bases. Jorge Polanco (273) is the only Twins player in the top 10.
Twins starter Randy Dobnak will have his hands full in Tuesday’s series opener, his first MLB start. The Red Sox have the highest home batting average (.286) in the American League.
Dobnak, however, has yet to allow a run.
The 24-year-old rookie has allowed 13 hits in eight major-league innings but has yet to allow an earned run or a walk.
His opponent, Red Sox veteran Rick Porcello, isn’t known for keeping the ball in the park. Porcello has allowed 26 home runs this season, tied for 12th in the AL, and has allowed 139 homers since joining the Red Sox in December, 2014, which leads the majors over that span.
Porcello is nursing a 5.42 ERA after giving up a combined 12 earned runs in five starts last month.
Twins slugger Nelson Cruz is primed to capitalize on that number.
The 39-year-old has a 1.030 OPS this season, good for fifth in the majors, and a monstrous 1.203 OPS since the All-Star break, which leads the majors.
Statistics via Sportradar
