Another season, another series where David Ortiz is proving to be the hero. The veteran is enjoying the Boston Red Sox's series against the Minnesota Twins as Target Field is serving his batting power well. Ortiz hit a pair of home runs on Wednesday while Boston got the 9-4 win, their seventh in the last eight matchups. Can he keep it up against Phil Hughes who is looking to win his fifth consecutive start?
Ortiz is in the midst of a power surge for Boston. He is batting .528 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 13 games at Target Field while hitting .305 on the season overall. In the current series, Ortiz is 7 for 10 while batting .552 with five home runs. Can Hughes slow him down? Ortiz is 9 for 22 with two home runs against the former New Yankees starter, but has just one hit in his last five at-bats against the pitcher.
Hughes is enjoying a strong start to the season. The pitcher has a 2.05 ERA in his last four starts while giving up just one walk in over 26 innings. He beat Justin Verlander on Friday, giving up eight hits in seven innings. Prior to his current win streak, he went 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in three starts against the Twins.
The Red Sox will send Clay Buchholz to the mound. He is 2-3 with a 6.44 ERA on the season, but is looking for his four straight win over Minnesota. He has a 3.05 ERA in his last six starts against the Twins while giving up just two runs and four hits over seven innings against the team in May. He got beat up in his last start, allowing six runs off 10 hits in four innings against the Texas Rangers. The Red Sox are hopeful he can bounce back on Thursday.
Watch Red Sox vs. Twins live stream, click here.
