Fenway Park is turning into a house of horrors for the Minnesota Twins -- particularly their bats.
Less than 24 hours after getting shut out in Boston by a 1-0 final, the Twins dropped a 6-3 contest to the Red Sox in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday. The only runs of the game for Minnesota came on home runs courtesy of Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar. Dozier tagged a solo shot in the third inning, while Escobar's came with two outs in the top of the ninth with Boston leading 6-3.
Dating back to a three-game series in Boston last season, the Twins have now scored just five runs on 19 hits in their last 35 innings at Fenway Park. Not surprisingly, Minnesota lost all five of those games. The Twins' recent struggles at Fenway come just one week after sweeping the Red Sox in a three-game series at Target Field in Minneapolis.
"We tried to hang in there," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Not enough offense early."
It was Boston's Clay Buchholz stymying the Twins on Tuesday, helping limit them to just three hits in the Red Sox's 1-0 win. Wednesday was left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez's turn as he gave up just one run in seven innings of work. Rodriguez -- making just his second career major-league start -- also struck out seven Minnesota batters while serving up just two hits, including the Dozier homer.
Minnesota had a chance to tack on a few runs in the eighth inning, but pinch hitter Joe Mauer grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Twins did pick up two more hits in that inning to raise their hit total to four. Escobar's homer -- a two-run shot over the Green Monster in left field -- was Minnesota's fifth hit of the game, which is the most hits the Twins have had at Fenway in five games over the last two seasons.
Perhaps Escobar's late-game homer will finally wake up the Twins' bats as they prepare for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
"I think people have been trying to figure out momentum for a long time," Molitor said. "I look at it as another tough loss and trust more in our guys preparing to play the game, regardless of the fact that were able to put a couple runs on the board there late. Every game has its own dynamic."
Roster moves: The Twins announced following Wednesday's 6-3 loss that outfielder Oswaldo Arcia has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Arcia suffered a hip injury and was placed on the DL on May 4. Before the injury, the 24-year-old Arcia was hitting .276 with two homers and eight RBI in 19 games.
Additionally, Minnesota announced that left-hander Tommy Milone will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to start Thursday's series finale in Boston. A corresponding move has not yet been made to free up a spot on the 25-man roster. Since his demotion to Triple-A, Milone is 4-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 47 strikeouts in five starts.
FOX Sports North's Jamie Hersch contributed to this report.
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