Red Sox reactions: Jordan Hicks blows late lead (after 90-minute ninth inning delay) in brutal loss

MINNEAPOLIS — Instant reactions as the Red Sox (57-51) blow it late in a wacky, rain-soaked 5-4 loss to the Twins at Target Field:

1) Jordan Hicks entered in the most unusual of circumstances — and folded fast. After Boston went up a run in the top of the ninth, he warmed up ahead of being tasked with protecting a one-run lead in the bottom of the inning, then came in 90 minutes later than expected after a monsoon caused a rain delay that lasted that long.

That delay proved costly. Hicks — pitching the ninth for the second straight day with Aroldis Chapman (back) and Garrett Whitlock (motion sickness) unavailable — allowed a leadoff single to light-hitting No. 9 hitter DaShawn Keirsey Jr., then hit Mickey Gasper and Willi Castro with back-to-back pitches to load the bases with no outs. He got Carlos Correa to ground out, but Brooks Lee lined a two-run single the other way to end it. It was the 10th time the Red Sox have been walked off on the road this season.

It was one of the weirder losses you’ll see all year. Very rarely do games get delayed in the ninth inning and teams usually do everything they can to play through. But the Target Field grounds crew determined the impending storm — that included heavy rain, strong winds and lightning — was too much to play through. By the time play suspended, there were just a couple hundred fans in the stands.

Hicks was questionable to even be available after recording five outs and throwing 25 pitches in emergency duty Sunday. He was Boston’s last available pitcher.

2) Before the storm (and collapse), David Hamilton’s speed changed the game and gave Boston a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Hamilton entered as a pinch-runner following Abraham Toro’s leadoff walk in the ninth, then stole second and third base with Roman Anthony at the plate to get — as the go-ahead run — 90 feet away from scoring. He did, on an Anthony bloop single on the eighth pitch of a battle against lights-out Twins closer Jhoan Duran.

3) Anthony is taking to the leadoff spot just fine. He singled in the first, then walked in the third and fifth to reach base in his first three at-bats. Then, in perhaps his best at-bat so far in the big leagues, he worked the count full, then fouled two pitches off before getting enough of the bat on a 100.5 mph fastball on the inside edge for the go-ahead hit. It looked like it would be the game-winner before the delay and Hicks’ collapse.

The Red Sox need an on-base machine in the leadoff spot and now have one.

4) Andrew Bailey’s pitching staff was stretched quite thin in this one. Chapman (back spasms), Justin Wilson (pitched back-to-back days) and Whitlock (not feeling well after a turbulent flight) were unavailable, meaning a different-looking bullpen mix for the final five innings with Richard Fitts only covering four.

Chris Murphy, Jorge Alcala, Brennan Bernardino and Greg Weissert bridged the gap to Hicks, with mixed results. The Red Sox will be calling up a fresh arm before Tuesday night’s game.

5) Alex Bregman sure has a flair for the dramatic. As he often has this season, he provided the big swing of the night for the Red Sox when he turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead (3-2) with a three-run blast off Simeon Woods Richardson in the fifth.

It was the second straight day Bregman put his team ahead — and another close game for the Red Sox, who have had 12 of their last 14 games decided by three runs or fewer. Seven of those have been one-run games.

6) Any pitcher will acknowledge he’s bound to get clipped for a homer here or there as the season progresses. But the home run that gave Minnesota an early 2-0 lead against Fitts was borderline inexcusable. That blast came off the bat of Keirsey Jr., who, before the at-bat, had hit .099 (7-for-71) with one extra-base hit and a .276 OPS in 74 plate appearances this year.

On a night the Red Sox were hoping he’d go deeper, Fitts again was not great. He lasted just four innings (58 pitches) and allowed a ton of baserunners (four hits, three walks). Boston optioned him to Triple-A after the outing.

7) It was a game of constant squanders by both clubs. The Red Sox had runners on the corners and no outs in the first, then two in scoring position in the fourth. The Twins loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but Fitts escaped with a strikeout and double play ball. The Twins then had them loaded with one out in the sixth and pushed across just one run. They then couldn’t surge ahead despite two men on and one out against a wild Bernardino in the seventh.

In all, the Red Sox were 3-for-14 with men in scoring position. The Twins were 2-for-9. Lee’s single, on an 0-2 Hicks fastball above the zone, represented their second hit in that category.

8) Alcala was all over the place, to say the least, in his return to Target Field, where he pitched for parts of seven seasons before being traded to Boston last month. He wasn’t close to the plate and unleashed two wild walks, a passed ball and a wild pitch to load the bases in the sixth, then allowed the Twins to tie the game on a Christian Vázquez sacrifice fly. It could have been worse… but it was ugly.

Boston struggled with free passes again, walking six batters and hitting three more.

9) Wilyer Abreu snapped an 0-for-16 with a three-hit game (including a bloop double in the eighth) but the struggles continued for the slumping Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela.

Yoshida was 1-for-4 with a single (and two grounders to second, a sure sign he’s struggling) and is now hitting just .220 with a .531 OPS (and no walks) in 12 games since returning. Rafaela, chasing a lot again, was 0-for-4 and is 7-for-38 (.184) with one walk since the All-Star break.

10) After a poor start against the Phillies last week, righty Lucas Giolito (6-2, 3.97 ERA) will look to get back on track against the Twins on Tuesday night. Minnesota, having traded probable starter Chris Paddack to the Tigers, are calling up righty Pierson Ohl — who has pitched at three different levels this year — for his big league debut. First pitch is again at 7:40 p.m. ET.