Minnesota at Boston - Jun 1^st 2015 7:10 PM ^ET Preview

The Minnesota Twins had little trouble sweeping past the Boston Red Sox at home last week, part of a 20-win May. The Red Sox will try to turn the tables when the teams open up a four-game series at Fenway Park on Monday.

The three straight losses to the Twins to begin the week turned into a 1-6 road trip when Boston dropped three of four games at Texas over the weekend. The low point of the whole trip may have come on Sunday, when the Red Sox squandered a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning as the Rangers walked off with a win. Minnesota continued picking on the American League East by taking two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. The Twins have won seven of their last eight overall to become the second AL team to reach 30 wins and are making a brief trip to Boston before returning home for another six games.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Twins RH Mike Pelfrey (4-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Clay Buchholz (2-6, 4.33)

Pelfrey had no trouble slicing through the Boston lineup on Tuesday, when he allowed one run and five hits in seven innings to pick up the win. The 31-year-old has surrendered two or fewer earned runs in seven of his nine starts, including each of the last two. Pelfrey’s win last week was his first in two starts against the Red Sox and lowered his career ERA against the team to 1.93.

Buchholz nearly matched Pelfrey last Tuesday but ended up with the loss while allowing two runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 frames. The 30-year-old Texas native has put together four straight quality starts but posted only one win in that span as the offense has totaled three runs in his last three outings. Buchholz is 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA in nine career starts against Minnesota.

WALK-OFFS

1. Twins RF Torii Hunter has hit safely in nine straight games and posted 11 RBIs in that span.

2. Red Sox rookie C Blake Swihart has hit safely in eight straight games to lift his batting average from .170 to .225.

3. Boston RHP Junichi Tazawa has not issued a walk in any of his last 10 appearances.