Gomes Away from Home
Pedro Florimon has hit two home runs this season. Both of them have come against the Red Sox. There’s just something about Boston’s pitchers that turns this nine-hole hitter into a slugger. His two-run shot in the bottom of the third put his team ahead 2-1. He didn’t even need the aid of the jutting section in right field to visit souvenir city.
It took until the seventh but the Red Sox tied the game. Jonny Gomes led off the frame with a base on balls and scooted to third on Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s line drive single to center. Jacoby Ellsbury stroked the ball up the middle where Florimon got to it but only managed to deflect it to Aaron Hicks in center. Gomes scored the tying run on the single.
The Twins and Red Sox were deadlocked until the tenth. Dustin Pedroia led off with a single and David Ortiz followed with a walk. John Farrell called for Will Middlebrooks to sacrifice bunt and Ron Gardenhire countered by intentionally walking hot-hitting Stephen Drew. Gomes took this personally and lofted the ball to center to plate the go-ahead run.
Koji Uehara pitched a perfect tenth inning with two strikeouts to secure the series opener. Whether it’s a hold or a save, Uehara celebrates lustily with his teammates all the same.
The 3-2 score and win in overtime is reminiscent of the Bruins’ win against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brad Marchand scored the winning goal, just as the shortest Red Sox player represented the winning run.
| Game 42: May 17, 2013 ∙ 10 innings | ||
 Boston Red Sox25-17 |
3 | W: Alex Wilson (1-0) S: Koji Uehara (1) |
| 2B: Stephen Drew (5) | ||
| Minnesota Twins 18-20 |
2 | BS: Brian Duensing (1) L: Josh Roenicke (1-1) |
| 2B: Trevor Plouffe (8) HR: Pedro Florimon (2) | ||
