Boston @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 11, 2016 ) Boston 15, Minnesota 4

Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox is putting his name atop the long list of great young shortstops in the majors with his hitting display of late. The American League batting average leader will try to put up a third straight four-hit performance and lead the Red Sox to a sweep when they visit the Minnesota Twins in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday.

Bogaerts went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in Friday’s 8-1 triumph in the series opener and followed it up with another 4-for-5 effort, which included a homer and three RBIs in Saturday’s 15-4 thrashing. The 23-year-old pushed his batting average up to .358 while 40-year-old teammate David Ortiz’s five hits in the series have him in second place in the AL at .346. The Twins staff is not putting up much resistance against any offense of late and surrendered a total of 33 runs while dropping the last three games. Minnesota is 3-9 over its last 12 games and the pitching staff is yielding an average of 6.6 runs in that span.

TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (7-2, 4.04 ERA) vs. Twins LH Pat Dean (1-2, 4.75)

Porcello did not factor in the decision in any of his last three starts despite going at least six innings in each. The New Jersey native tossed his only quality start in that span at San Francisco on Tuesday, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out six in six frames. Porcello has a long history against Minnesota from his time with the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, building up an 8-9 record with a 4.00 ERA in 25 starts.

Dean was knocked around for four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against Miami on Tuesday but did not factor in the decision in a game the Twins went on to win 6-4. The Boston College product yielded eight runs and 16 hits in 9 1/3 innings over his last two outings. Dean is making his first career start against Boston and owns a 5.54 ERA in three home games – two starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Red Sox C Sandy Leon is 5-for-5 in two games since joining the team earlier in the week.

2. Minnesota 2B Brian Dozier is 9-for-19 in the last five games.

3. Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia went 0-for-6 on Saturday to snap a 16-game hitting streak.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 10, Twins 6