Twins Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Minnesota's Comeback Comes Up Short, 7-6

The Minnesota Twins were swept by the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, 7-6, although they almost came all the way back from a six-run deficit to steal one.

Down 7-1 going into the sixth, it appeared the Twins were going to lose their fifth straight game in convincing fashion, but the Twins chased Clay Buchholz and scored five runs in the bottom half to pull within a run. The Twins would load the bases against Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves in the bottom of the ninth, but Denard Span struck out to end the game.

Span, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each had two hits in the game, including big hits in that five-run sixth. Ben Revere, who was just recalled, also had two hits for the Twins.

Twins' starter Liam Hendriks allowed seven runs in four innings, but the bullpen tossed five scoreless.

Minnesota (5-14) will have Thursday off before returning to action on Friday with a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox: Ben Revere Will Start In LF In Place of Josh Willingham

Ben Revere will start in left field Wednesday night for the Minnesota Twins after being recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take the place of Josh Willingham, who was placed on paternity leave to witness the birth of his son, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

"They said it would be three days or the rest of the season," Revere said. "It’s a big gap. I won’t mind that. Just go out there these three days, just get my games in, get my at-bats, anything I can do to help this team win. Hopefully, I can stay."

Revere, 23, hit .303 in 32 games last season for Rochester. Here are the lineup cards for both teams.

Willingham is leading the Twins in batting average (.333), home runs (5), RBI (13), runs (11) and OPS (1.114). His wife Ginger gave birth to his son, Rogan James, Wednesday afternoon.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox Game Three Preview: Minnesota Tries To Avoid Sweep

The Minnesota Twins are trying to avoid being swept for the third time in a very young season when they take on the Boston Red Sox for the final game of their three-game set on Wednesday. Minnesota was previously swept by the Texas Rangers on April 13, 14 and 15 and the Baltimore Orioles to begin the season on April 6, 7, and 8. They also lost two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays and lost two of four against the New York Yankees.

In other words, the Twins have only won one series - taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels in their second series of the season. Boston isn't exactly a team that's known for its sweeps either, with none to their credit this season, though they've been on the receiving end of a couple.

The Twins lost game two by a score of 11-2, after losing a competitive game one 6-5. Game three will see Clay Buchholz take the mound for the Red Sox against Liam Hendriks for the Twins. Buchholz is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA, and suffered a loss in his last outing after giving up five runs to the Yankees. Hendricks is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and gave up four runs in his last outing against the Rays.

The game is set for 8:10 eastern and will wrap up the series. Following that, the Twins will get started on a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Boston Hands Minnesota Their Fourth Straight Loss, 11-2

The Minnesota Twins' starting pitching woes continued on Tuesday night with Nick Blackburn only lasting three innings in a 11-2 beating to the Boston Red Sox. The loss is the Twins' fourth straight, as they fall to 5-13 on the young season.

Blackburn gave up five earned runs on eight hits in three innings, inflating his ERA to 7.53 on the year. Matt Maloney relieved him and put up an identical line, only in 1.2 innings, and just like that the night was all but over for the Twins.

Denard Span and Josh Willingham each had two hits for the Twins, who scored once in the first and another in the fifth.

Josh Beckett got the win for the Red Sox, who improved to 6-10.

The third and final game of this series will be Wednesday night with Liam Hendricks taking the mound for the Twins.

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Ricky Rubio Gives Twins Fans Something To Cheer About

Josh Willingham Placed On Paternity Leave; Minnesota Twins Recall OF Ben Revere

The Minnesota Twins placed LF Josh Willingham on paternity leave, while recalling OF Ben Revere from Triple-A Rochester.

Twins' Francisco Liriano To Skip Next Start

The Minnesota Twins need Francisco Liriano to get things together sooner rather than later. In lieu of being able to go with the former however, they'll let him rest and get his head straight and resign themselves to the latter. The Pioneer Press is reporting that Liriano will skip his next start for the Twins and take some time off.

Because the Twins have a day off Thursday, they can skip his next start without altering the rotation. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he should be back on the mound on Tuesday, May 1, against the Los Angeles Angels.

Liriano is Minnesota's "ace", but he lacks the consistency that most pitchers with that title have. He's 0-3 with an 11.02 earned-run average after a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. This isn't the first time he's struggled, though it's still up in the air as to whether or not he's got issues with his arm.

Some figure that he does, given his injury history (starting with a torn ligament in his elbow in his rookie season) and the fact that he's battled with issues in that regard throughout his career. If this rest is mostly for his head and that's good for him, then the Twins are in good shape, but if it's to rest his arm just three starts into the season, then there's definitely cause to worry.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox: Nick Blackburn Goes For First Win In Game 2 Of Boston Series

Still riding out the AL East portion of the April schedule, the Minnesota Twins can at least take solace in the upcoming visit from the Kansas City Royals.

Until then, though, it's two more games with the Boston Red Sox.

Minnesota, 5-12, has dropped three straight, the first two coming against the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, the third on Monday's series-opener against Boston.

While it's tough to twist the Twins' 5-13 start into a positive, it's true that the schedule can't get much tougher. The Twins have already played the Texas Rangers (defending American League champion), the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay (a chic preseason World Series pick) and now Boston. And for all of Boston's problems so far this season -- the Red Sox are just 5-10 -- there is still an $80-million discrepancy between their payroll and the Twins'.

Minnesota will start Nick Blackburn, who is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA. He'll go up against Josh Beckett, who is 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA a year after going 13-7 with a 2.89 ERA.

The first pitch Tuesday is set for 7:10.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox Final Score: Cody Ross' 2 Home Runs Down Minnesota In Series Opener

Cody Ross' two home runs on Monday night helped the Boston Red Sox end their five-game losing streak, 6-5. The Twins dropped their third straight and fall to 5-12 on the season.

Trailing 3-0, the Twins scored four in the fourth and one more in the fifth off Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who went seven innings. Ryan Doumit knocked in two with a double and Danny Valencia's first home run of the season added two more in that four-run fourth.

Unfortunately for the Twins, Ross hit a two-run shot in the seventh and a solo homer in the ninth to give the Red Sox an opportunity to close out the Twins in the bottom half of the ninth. With Red Sox fans on pins and needles, Sox closer Alfredo Aceves picked up his third save of the season and improved his ERA to 18.00. Matt Capps got pegged with the loss for the Twins.

Game 2 of the three-game set continues tomorrow night with Josh Beckett squaring off against Nick Blackburn.

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Twins Vs. Red Sox: Minnesota Starts Series Against Slumping Boston

The Minnesota Twins start a series with the Boston Red Sox on Monday as Jason Marquis takes on Jon Lester.