In what has turned out to be a good start to the season, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora took a time to commend his squad for a great homestand. Still, it was only a moment. Cora’s mind instantly shifted to Friday’s first game of a three-game series in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins. Cora praised the 4-2 homestand, during which his club outscored opponents 34-16. “It was a great homestand,” he remarked. It was excellent, but not superior to the previous one. We performed really well. We made a strong pitch. We engaged in clean baseball play. Consequently, Minnesota is here. On the trip, we’ll attempt to follow the same plan.” It probably won’t be simple. Before the first game of their seven-game homestand, the Twins had won ten straight games. Minnesota recently completed an ideal road trip, winning three straight games against the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels. But there was a price for the Twins’ most recent triumph. Byron Buxton hobbled off the field after suffering a right knee injury during Wednesday’s series finale versus the White Sox. Throughout his career, Buxton has struggled with injuries. Following the game, he declined to talk to media, and the team stated it will soon receive further information regarding his injuries. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli stated, “We’re going to get some imaging done just so we know what we’re dealing with, and we’re going to start there.” After the injury, Ryan Jeffers, a teammate, claimed to have spoken with Buxton. “He seems to be doing well,” Jeffers stated. “I don’t know much about the injury, but he seemed to be in good spirits and spoke some encouraging things. Let’s interpret that as encouraging. Tanner Houck, a right-hander for the Red Sox (3-2, 1.60 ERA), will take the mound in the opening game of the series and try to build on his breakout season. In 39 1/3 innings this season, Houck, 27, has struck out 41 batters while walking five. Houck is 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA in his career versus the Twins in three starts. In 17 1/3 innings, he has struck out 17 batters while walking five. Chris Paddack (2-1, 5.88), a right-hander who will be making his sixth start of the year, will counter for Minnesota. Though his most recent appearance against the Angels saw him give up four runs on eight hits in five innings, he has gotten the win in each of his last two starts. In his career, Paddack has only faced Boston once, and it did not go well. After giving up six runs on seven hits in two and a half innings, he left the game against the Red Sox with a 0-1 record and a 23.14 ERA. Before Friday’s game against the Twins, Red Sox infielder Vaughn Grissom is anticipated to be activated from the disabled list. Grissom recently participated in an injury rehabilitation assignment in the minors after overcoming a right hamstring ailment and a groyne injury during spring training that kept him out of the game for the first month. In December, as part of a trade that sent veteran left-hander Chris Sale to Atlanta, the Red Sox acquired Grissom from the Braves. In 64 career games with the Braves, the 23-year-old Grissom hit.287 with five home runs, 27 RBIs, and five stolen bases.
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