Oh, the agonizing pain!
Okay, not really. But it was surprisingly tight, and especially after looking at Boston's lineup I was certain it'd finish closer to 5-1.
Nick Blackburn (2 IP, 1 H), Kevin Slowey (2 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and Pat Neshek (1 IP, 1 K) combined for five scorless innings to lead off the game before Mike Maroth (1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 R) allowed the Red Sox to tie the game at one. Kyle Walrop pitched a perfect seventh with Jose Lugo allowing a run in his inning of work which would be the difference maker.
The Twins did take an early lead, with Denard Span leading off the game with a single. He scored who batters later on Jaso Kubel's single off of Josh Beckett. Kubel, Brian Dinkelman and Brock Peterson took a walk each in the contest, while Michael Cuddyer and Luke Hughes also added a single each.
It's always hard to say somebody really struggled at this point, but Maroth and Lugo probably would have liked to have done better. Jacque Jones struck out once in two at-bats and stranded two runners. On the plus side the pitching was generally strong, Kubel had a good few innings and...most importantly...nobody got hurt.
And we're one day closer to the regular season!