By Tiffany Williams –
The Red Sox and Twins played their fourth game in the 2024 Chairman’s Cup on Friday, and it was a wild one! The Sox won 8-5 at JetBlue Park.
Garrett Whitlock started for the Sox and pitched 4.1 innings, only allowing two hits and striking out five.
Jarren Duran was the man of the hour, with four at-bats, three hits, two runs, and four RBI. In the bottom of the second inning, he hit a single that helped Ceddanne Rafaela and Connor Wong score, putting the Sox out front 0-2. Rafael Devers hit a single to help Jarren Duran score, bringing the score to 0-3 in favor of the Sox.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Rafael Devers hit his third Spring Training homer, and C.J. Cron hit a single to help Trevor Story score, making it 0-5.
The Twins made a comeback in the top of the sixth inning, with Alex Kirilloff and Christian Vázquez hitting homers. Michael Helman hit a single to help Seth Gray and Agustin Ruiz score, and Willi Castro doubled to help Will Holland score, tying the game at 5-5.
But Jarren Duran wasn’t done yet. He hit his first Spring Training homer, with Karson Simas scoring, to put the Sox back in the lead 5-7. Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Jamie Westbrook hit his second Spring Training homer to help the Sox clinch their 5-8 win.
The 2024 Chairman’s Cup is all tied up at 2-2, with the Sox winning the first match 8-6 on February 5 at JetBlue Park. The Twins won the last two meetings.
Last year, the Twins won the Chairman’s Cup 3-2, taking the lead in the all-time series, 15-14-2. The Twins are currently ahead of the Sox, with a 91-83-2 edge in games.