{"id":982,"date":"2026-05-23T04:34:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=982"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:34:39","slug":"justin-slaten-red-sox-squander-late-lead-in-stinging-setback-to-twins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=982","title":{"rendered":"Justin Slaten, Red Sox squander late lead in stinging setback to Twins"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>For all that has gone wrong for the Red Sox, they have found comfort in \u2014 and success with \u2014 the big arms in the back of the bullpen. Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman have been almost automatic, helping keep the season afloat. They have been The Protectors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=980\">Red Sox will get a chance to see what Marcelo Mayer can do at shortstop<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>So it stung all the more Friday night when one of the strongest parts of their roster faltered in an 8-6 loss to the Twins, ending the Sox\u2019 win streak at three games \u2014 still stuck as their longest of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Slaten entered in the seventh inning with a three-run advantage. Then he gave up a pair of two-run home runs \u2014 to Byron Buxton and Austin Martin \u2014 in a span of seven pitches, inspiring boos from the not-quite-a-sellout Fenway Park crowd of 34,740.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The Red Sox (22-28) had been 16-1 when leading after six.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cAt some point, there\u2019s going to be a crack in there,\u201d interim manager Chad Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Slaten echoed: \u201cThat\u2019s just the game we play. Sometimes you just got to go out there and try and battle with what you got, and it didn\u2019t go my way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He had gone 15 consecutive appearances, dating to September, since giving up an earned run, the third-longest active streak in the majors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was the first time a Sox reliever blew a lead of three runs or more in one inning or less since July 2 \u2014 the last game before their season-saving win streak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Slaten\u2019s appearance began innocuously enough, with a leadoff single by Luke Keaschall followed by a strikeout of Alex Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Buxton nearly was retired, but on a foul pop-up, first baseman Willson Contreras and second baseman Marcelo Mayer converged and neither caught it. It went off Contreras\u2019 glove.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt was a really tough play,\u201d Contreras said through an interpreter. \u201cIf I make that play, I\u2019m the best player in the world. But if I miss that play, then I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Buxton hammered the ninth pitch from Slaten an estimated 419 feet over the Green Monster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Slaten answered by walking Brooks Lee on four pitches, only one sort of close to the strike zone. Martin banged a hanging sweeper, also over the Monster, for the Twins\u2019 first lead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=978\">Fleet\u2019s Kris Sparre one of three finalists for PWHL Coach of the Year<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf you\u2019re a reliever, you want to be in one of those spots. It\u2019s what you get out of bed for in the mornings,\u201d Slaten said. \u201cI\u2019m blessed to be able to go in these situations. And it\u2019s unfortunate that tonight I didn\u2019t do my job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox stranded two runners in the eighth. In the ninth, after the Twins (24-27) tacked on another run, the Red Sox put the leadoff man on \u2014 when Jarren Duran swung for strike three at a pitch so far from the zone that it skipped past Jackson, the catcher, and over the backstop netting.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Red Sox notebook: Shortstop Trevor Story to be sidelined for weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery<\/div>\n<p><span>Ceddanne Rafaela\u2019s fly ball stopped at the warning track in center field. Wilyer Abreu grounded into a double play to end the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Red Sox positioned themselves well with a four-run first inning \u2014 the beginning of a successful night against rookie lefthander Connor Prielipp (four innings, six runs).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Abreu (double) and Contreras (triple) each drove in and scored a run in the opening rally.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Getting career hit No. 1,000 in style. pic.twitter.com\/sP9Hni6Dqx<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Red Sox (@RedSox) May 22, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Contreras punctuated his sprint with a belly-flop slide, to the delight of teammates in the dugout. After pounding his chest, he asked for the baseball, which represented his 1,000th career hit (and 13th triple).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt feels really special for me considering where I come from, the effort it took to get here,\u201d Contreras said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Lefthander Payton Tolle survived a seemingly random 33-pitch, three-run second inning and dominated the rest of the time. The Twins totaled four hits and one walk in that frame and zero hits and one walk in all of the others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cGood lord, that felt like 50 pitches,\u201d Tolle said. \u201cSecond inning got squirrely on me, but I thought it was good to come back, have good innings after.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Altogether, the six innings and three runs made for a quality start \u2014 Tolle\u2019s third in four outings this month. He retired 14 of 15 batters after the blip. And he totaled nine strikeouts (to two walks).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Tracy lifted Tolle after 85 pitches. He had the game exactly where he wanted it, handing a lead to his late-inning triumvirate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=976\">MIAA girls\u2019 tennis tournament: Seedings and pairings, Divisions 1-4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt was pretty clear cut,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cHe had done his job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sox also spoiled a quality start by Payton Tolle in the opener of six-game homestand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Justin Slaten, Red Sox squander late lead in stinging setback to Twins - 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