BOSTON — Instant reactions from a gritty 6-1 win for the Red Sox (18-16) in which Triston Casas was stretchered off after suffering what could be a serious left leg injury:
1) Results aside, the story of Friday night is Casas, who once again looks like he’s headed for a prolonged absence due to injury. It was hard to tell exactly what happened as part of the gnarly collision that sent him out of the game — and into an ambulance on a stretcher — in the second inning, but the fact he was unable to get up on his own as well as his body language made it seem like he was very concerned about what happened. Testing will likely continue into the early morning Saturday.
2) The Red Sox needed someone to step up as their clear No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet from the start of the season and Walker Buehler’s shoulder injury only makes that need more acute. The fact that Brayan Bello — who allowed one run on four hits and struck out five in 6 ⅔ innings — has come on very strong in his first three outings of 2025 is a really good sign for Boston. If this is the year Bello puts it all together, the Red Sox could have one of the best 1-2 punches at the top of their rotation in the big leagues.
Bello, who made his season debut on April 22, now has a 2.55 through 17 ⅔ innings to start the year. The only blip for him Friday was a rocket Ryan Jeffers homer in the third. He got a nice ovation from the Fenway crowd as he departed.
3) The game completely changed when the Twins replaced starter Joe Ryan and turned to their bullpen, which was putrid.
Ryan, as it seems like he often is against the Red Sox, was equally as dominant as Bello. One of the more underrated arms in the big leagues, the righty held the Red Sox to a lone run on four hits while striking out eight batters in six innings. When he left, it was a 1-1 game.
Then came the avalanche for Boston’s offense, who had more than double the amount of hits they did in six innings against Ryan in the final two frames against three Minnesota relievers (Louis Varland, Danny Coulombe and Jorge Alcala). The final tally? Five runs and nine hits in the seventh and eighth combined.
4) The Red Sox learned, once again, the value of putting the ball in play in a well put-together seventh inning. After Connor Wong and David Hamilton each hit soft singles off Varland to lead things off, Ceddanne Rafaela put two men in scoring position for the top of the order with a sacrifice bunt. Tough lefty Coulombe then struck out Jarren Duran and got two strikes on Rafael Devers before the slugger roped a 102.8 mph hopper into the second base hole. Edouard Julien couldn’t corral it and both runs scored to break a 1-1 tie and give Boston the lead for good.
5) After two brutal nights north of the border, Boston’s bullpen was once again tasked with holding on to a small lead. This time, with a slightly different cast of characters, they did. Greg Weissert worked around a single in a scoreless eighth in a two-run game, and Alex Cora was planning to turn to closer Aroldis Chapman for the ninth. Then, the Sox scored three times in the eighth, Chapman sat down and Liam Hendriks came in to shut the door with a five-run lead. He did so on 10 pitches.
6) Alex Bregman has yet to cool down. After an excellent series in Toronto, he returned to Fenway with a bang, giving Bello and the Red Sox an instant 1-0 lead with a blast to left off Joe Ryan. That’s his third Fenway homer of the year. There would seem to be plenty more to come. He added a double later in the game.
7) Romy Gonzalez might find himself playing a lot if Casas has to miss significant time, as expected. He got in rhythm with an RBI double that provided an insurance run in the eighth, then promptly stole third and scored. The Red Sox were 4-for-4 nabbing bases against Jeffers.
8) Hamilton entered the night just 3-for-33 (.091) to start the season, then struck out in his first at-bat. In an effort to create instant offense out of the No. 8 spot, Hamilton successfully bunted for a hit with one out on the fifth, then stole both second and third. The Red Sox couldn’t get him in, but it was worth a shot. Rafaela’s bunt a couple innings later proved more impactful.
Hamilton then had real hits in his next two at-bats, including a wall-ball double to make it a 5-1 game (and no longer a save situation) in the bottom of the eighth.
9) Bello posted a quality start, and it was the sixth straight such outing from a Red Sox starter. Believe it or not, that’s the longest quality start streak from Boston’s staff since 2017 (8).
10) With Walker Buehler on the injured list due to shoulder bursitis, the Red Sox will turn to rookie Hunter Dobbins (2-0, 2.45 ERA) in Saturday’s middle game of the series. The Twins will send Bailey Ober (3-1, 4.13 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Expect the Red Sox to make a roster move to replace Casas at some point before the game.
