BOSTON — Michael Wacha pitched five shutout innings in his Fenway Park debut with Boston and Trevor Story drove in his first two runs in his new home, leading the Red Sox to a 8-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
It was the second straight day the Red Sox beat the Twins after losing their home opener.
J.D. Martinez had an RBI double and sacrifice fly for Boston.
The teams close out the four-game series in Boston’s annual Patriots’ Day game on Monday morning with a scheduled first pitch of 11:10 a.m.
It’ll be the first time since 2019 that the game will be played in conjunction with the running of the Boston Marathon after the contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the marathon was moved to October last year.
Signed to a $140-million, six-year deal as a free agent during spring training after playing six seasons in Colorado, Story had had a two-run single during a six-run eighth inning. Wacha, signed to a one-year, $7-millon deal during the offseason, allowed a single with five strikeouts and two walks.
Matt Straham (1-0) got his first win in a Red Sox uniform by getting four outs.
Bailey Ober (1-1) gave up two unearned runs and four hits in six innings, walking one and striking out three.
Wearing their yellow-and-powder blue city connect uniforms for the second straight day, the Red Sox broke in front 2-0 on sacrifice flies on consecutive pitches by Martinez and Alex Verdugo after Rafael Devers reached when Miguel Sanó booted his grounder for an error and Xander Bogaerts doubled off the Green Monster.
The Twins avoided being shutout for the third time this season when Trevor Larnach had a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Mixing his fastball in the mid-90 mph range with his changeup and cutter, Wacha breezed through the first four hitless innings before Gio Urshela opened the fifth with his hit up-the-middle.
