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Red Sox Beat Twins 8-7

BOSTON -- Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw slugged three-run home runs to help keep Rick Porcello perfect at Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 8-7 Sunday afternoon.

It was Ramirez's 13th homer of the season and fifth in five games. He had a trio of two-runs blasts Tuesday against San Francisco and hit a three-run shot Saturday.

Shaw's shot was his 12th of the year and fourth in July.

The Red Sox have homered in 15 consecutive contests dating back to July 4, second only to their 22-game homer streak from April 29 to May 22.

Boston (55-41) has a major-league-best 13-5 record in July despite back-to-back losses to Minnesota coming in.

The Red Sox remained 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore for first place in the American League East after the Orioles' win Sunday.

Red Sox starter Porcello (13-2) tossed 6 2/3 innings, allowing five runs -- four earned -- on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.

Porcello improved to 10-0 at Fenway this season, with Boston winning all 11 of his home starts.

Brad Ziegler threw a clean ninth for his first save with the Red Sox and his 19th of the season.

Juan Centeno drove in three runs and Byron Buxton and Kennys Vargas each had two RBIs for the AL-worst Twins (37-61), who managed a four-game series split with Boston.

Twins starter Tommy Milone (3-3) was roughed up for eight runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits while striking out four in 4 2/3 innings.

Centeno's two-run double in the second put Porcello on his heels, but Ramirez feasted on Milone's first-pitch changeup for his homer an inning later.

Max Kepler opened the fourth with a triple, and Vargas' ensuing groundout tied it.

Shaw's homer highlighted a five-run Red Sox fifth, which began with Dustin Pedroia's solo homer to left-center, his 10th long ball of the campaign.

Aaron Hill's hard-hit grounder zipped under Miguel Sano's glove into left for an error, scoring a run and putting a pair of runners on for Shaw.

Shaw blasted a 2-2 curveball from Milone into the Boston bullpen.

Minnesota made a late charge as Buxton's single in the seventh plated a pair, and Vargas' sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the eighth made it a two-run contest.

Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa fanned Eddie Rosario for the second out of the eighth, but Centeno's RBI single past a diving Shaw at first base brought the Twins within a run.

Tazawa struck out Buxton swinging to stop the bleeding.

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