BOSTON -- Having Sonny Gray on the hill provided no sunshine on Sunday, as the struggles at Fenway Park continued for the Red Sox, who were swept in three games by the Twins over the weekend.
Baseball’s worst team on its own turf, Boston dropped to 8-17 at home following Sunday’s 6-5 loss to Minnesota, its fourth straight defeat at Fenway.
Playing in rain-soaked conditions throughout, Boston was able to battle back from a pair of early deficits, tying the game at 1 on Masataka Yoshida’s first home run of the season in the second and squaring things again at 3 behind a two-run shot from Willson Contreras in the fourth.
A Marcelo Mayer fourth-inning single would have the team on top, 4-3.
Despite his team grabbing the lead, Gray would conclude his day after four innings in which he allowed 3 runs, 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4.
That allowed Minnesota to attack Boston’s bullpen, which they did in the sixth inning to the tune of three runs, all coming with two outs.
Boston’s offense, hitting just .224 for the season at home, mounted rallies in the final two frames, bringing the tying run into scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight night. But again, the comeback fell short.