Twins are powerless vs. the Red Sox power

Jennifer Simonson, Star Tribune

Twins first base player Justin Morneau (33) broke his bat while hitting a single in the third inning against the Boston Red Sox.

Boston hit four solo home runs, including back-to-back shots in the seventh inning from its No. 8 and 9 hitters.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: May 11, 2008 - 12:27 AM

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BOSTON 5, TWINS 2

National stage: The final two games of the Twins- Red Sox series will be televised by ESPN (7:05 tonight and 6:05 Monday). Major league players will break out the pink bats today to raise breast cancer awareness.

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The Twins expect trouble from Red Sox sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie? Not so much.

But Saturday night, the bottom of Boston's batting order flexed its muscles, as the Red Sox defeated the Twins 5-2 before an announced crowd of 33,839 at the Metrodome.

The Red Sox trailed 2-1 in the seventh inning before Crisp and Lowrie -- Boston's No. 8 and 9 hitters, respectively -- smacked back-to-back home runs off Glen Perkins.

That spoiled Perkins' first major league start and helped Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka improve to 6-0.

For Crisp, it was his first homer of the season. For Lowrie, it was the first homer of his major league career.

"I kept a straight face until I crossed home plate," Lowrie said. "Then, I couldn't help but crack a smile."

Lowrie went 3-for-4, but today the Red Sox likely will send him back to Class AAA Pawtucket to make room for Alex Cora to come off the disabled list.

That, in a nutshell, explains the difference between these two first-place teams, who have split the first two games of this four-game series.

This time, Ortiz and Ramirez combined to go 0-for-9 with one intentional walk.

No matter. The bottom five hitters in Boston's lineup -- Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Crisp and Lowrie -- combined to go 10-for-21 with four home runs.

"That's the most solid lineup up and down you're going to see in the major leagues," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Because of all the ways they can beat you. They can hit homers; they can do a lot of things."

Once again, the Twins failed to hit a home run.

Their two runs came on a bases-loaded walk by Carlos Gomez in the second inning and an RBI single by Justin Morneau in the fifth.

The Red Sox have hit 39 home runs this season, compared to 17 for the Twins, last in the majors.

Boston's four home runs this time all came with the bases empty. This continued a trend for the Twins, who have allowed 40 homers this season, including 33 solo shots.

"We kept battling and getting after it, but they ended up hitting balls into the seats," Gardenhire said. "You can't catch those."

Perkins gave up three runs on nine hits in six-plus innings.

Matsuzaka held the Twins to two runs over seven innings, giving up six hits and three walks.

In his previous start, the $103 million import from Japan walked eight batters in a victory over the Tigers. Gardenhire said his hitters tried to be patient.

"He'd fall behind on some guys, and he'd come back and make some pitches," said Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel, who went 0-for-4, stretching his hitless streak to 15 at-bats.

Boston is 10-0 in Matsuzaka's past 10 regular-season starts.

"They're the world champs for a reason," Kubel said. "I love watching the way Youkilis and [Dustin] Pedroia play. They bust their tail on the field. There's a bunch of good players over there, and they get the job done."