Red Sox 1, Twins 0
Rubby De La Rosa combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as host Boston ended a two-game skid by taking the opener of the three-game series.
Former Twin A.J. Pierzynski lifted a sacrifice fly and Stephen Drew notched a pair of hits for the Red Sox, who won for just the fifth time in 14 contests. De La Rosa (2-2) yielded one hit and three walks over seven innings before turning it over to the bullpen, which got into trouble in the eighth but escaped unscathed before Koji Uehara worked the ninth for his 15th save.
Danny Santana, Kurt Suzuki and Sam Fuld each recorded a hit for the Twins, who have lost three straight. Kevin Correia (3-8) was the hard-luck loser after giving up just one run and five hits in six frames.
Boston snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth as Daniel Nava led off with a single and advanced to third on a base hit by Drew, who was thrown out attempting to stretch it into a double. Pierzynski followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Nava with the game's lone run.
The Twins made a baserunning blunder in the third, preventing them from taking the lead. Fuld, who walked and stole second, was held up at third base on Santana's single but then got hung up in a rundown and was tagged out as Santana trotted into third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota loaded the bases in the eighth against RHP Burke Badenhop, but Brian Dozier struck out to end the inning. ... The Red Sox improved to 9-15 in one-run games this season. ... Correia has yielded one run over 12 innings in his last two outings but is 1-1.