Gibson Strong as Twins Edge Red Sox, 2-1

Kyle Gibson cruised through eight innings, Brandon Kintzler pulled an Eddie Guardado, and the Twins won a nice, close game on Friday, edging Boston 2-1.

It did not get off to a promising start, as Gibby surrendered a leadoff dong to Mookie Betts. And then...nothing.

The Red Sox managed just one more hit off Gibson over his eight innings, who exited after throwing 96 pitches, striking out six and walking one. There are rumors that other teams have multiple starting pitchers who do this with frequency, but I remain skeptical.

Despite the aforementioned 96 pitches, Paul Molitor pulled Gibby in favor of proven closer Brandon Kintzler, who is definitely on the team and not a name I'm making up. And the second-guessers had likely already popped the cork on their skeptic's champagne (technically, Busch Light Draft doesn't have a cork, but this is a metaphor) when BK loaded the bases with nobody out..

But! Former Twin David Ortiz hit into a 4-2-3 double play (just like Game 7!), then Hanley Ramirez lined out to end the game, giving Kintzler a truly Guardado-esque save. This game was...fun?

Studs:

• Gibby.
• Brian Dozier. 3-3 with a solo dong, his 17th of the year.

Source: FanGraphs