Byron Buxton, Austin Martin hit late homers to complete Twins' 8-6 comeback over Red Sox
Austin Martin lofted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning, his fourth home run in 188 career games, and the Minnesota Twins bullpen pitched five hitless innings.
Call it the night of the improbable in the Twins' 8-6 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Friday. The Twins trailed by four runs after the first inning and three runs after the sixth before they rallied to open their 10-game road trip.
During the decisive seventh inning, after Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle struck out nine over six innings, Byron Buxton started the comeback bid when he ended a nine-pitch at-bat against reliever Justin Slaten with a two-run homer over the Green Monster.
It was Buxton's 16th homer of the season, all in his last 29 games, and put the Twins within one run. Brooks Lee followed with a four-pitch walk and then Martin, who was in a 0-for-17 slump, drilled his second homer of the season and the fourth of his career on top of the Green Monster in left field to silence the crowd.
The Twins tacked on an extra run in the ninth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, and Trevor Larnach drew a five-pitch walk.
Four Twins relievers - Travis Adams, Yoendrys Gómez, Eric Orze and Anthony Banda - didn't give up a hit over the final five innings while striking out six. Banda recorded the final four outs and became the 10th Twins pitcher to earn a save this season, a team record.
The Twins have won eight of their past 12 games.
Connor Prielipp, the Twins rookie left-hander, surrendered seven hits and six runs (five earned) in four innings, the first time he has given up more than two earned runs in any of his six major league starts.
Prielipp was hit around in the first inning, giving up four runs and four hits in 21 pitches. He issued a leadoff walk, then watched Fenway Park give his defense some trouble. Wilyer Abreu hit an RBI double off the center field, a ball that landed over a leaping Martin in center field.
Willson Contreras, two pitches later, hit a triple off the Green Monster in left field, the ball bouncing onto the field and hopping over Martin. The Twins drew their infield in, and Andruw Monasterio chopped a ground ball that bounced over leaping third baseman Brooks Lee for an RBI single. The Red Sox added a fourth run on a sacrifice fly.
It was the first time Lee didn't play shortstop this year, and he is expected to remain the everyday third baseman after Royce Lewis was demoted to Class AAA. The Twins plan to have Ryan Kreidler, Orlando Arcia and Tristan Gray (who is currently on paternity leave) share shortstop duties.
The Twins responded with a three-run inning against Tolle after their first five batters all reached base. Ryan Kreidler bounced an RBI double over third baseman Caleb Durbin, a similar hop to the one the Red Sox benefited from in the first inning.
Tolle committed a fielding error, giving the Twins the bases loaded with no outs. Luke Keaschall poked an RBI single to right field and Buxton lined an RBI single that deflected off Durbin's glove, but the Twins couldn't clear the bases, nor fully erase their early deficit.
Boston added two runs in the fourth inning, starting the inning with runners on the corners and one out. Durbin dropped a successful squeeze bunt, and Prielipp made an errant throw toward first base that gave the Red Sox an extra out. Six pitches later, the Red Sox had an extra run through a groundout.
The Twins responded with five unanswered runs.
Turning point
During Buxton's seventh-inning at-bat, a two-run homer that energized the Twins dugout, he hit a pop up in foul territory in shallow right field between three fielders. Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras ran under the ball, but then pulled up when second baseman Marcelo Mayer ran next to him.
The ball deflected off Contreras' first baseman's mitt and fell to the dirt for a foul ball, with Contreras perhaps thinking Mayer was about to call him off for the catch.
Three pitches later, Buxton rocketed his homer over the Green Monster.
Stat of the day
Gabriel Gonzalez, called up Friday to make his major league debut, became the first Twins player to draw a walk in his first two career plate appearances since Alexi Castilla in 2006. Gonzalez drew a four-pitch walk in the second inning and an eight-pitch walk against Tolle in the third.
Gonzalez, a 22-year-old left fielder, produced his first career hit with an infield single in the seventh inning, a slow chopper between the mound and third base. He broke into a smile as teammates in the dugout signaled their request for the ball.
Up next
Taj Bradley is expected to return from the 15-day injured list to make his first start since May 5. Bradley is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in four career starts at Fenway Park. The Red Sox haven't announced their starter for the 4:10 p.m. ET game Saturday.
____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 7:51 PM.