Correia has solid outing in Twins' 4-1 loss to Red Sox

By foxsports
Published

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- John Lackey pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Will Middlebrooks had two extra-base hits and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Thursday night.

Lackey, the team's No. 2 starter, gave up four hits with a walk and six strikeouts over 6 1-3 innings in his final tuneup for the regular season.

"He had his sharpest outing of the spring," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "He goes into the start of the season in very good shape. He had good power and good action to his breaking ball. He also had his cutter and curveball working. It was a very productive spring from John."

Kevin Correia, the Twins' No. 2 starter, allowed one run and six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one.

"Correia threw the ball very well," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Changed speeds, used his splitter. We're throwing the ball just fine. We're not swinging, not getting too much offensively. Got to keep swinging. Got a few guys struggling right now, and we've got to get them swinging. Like to see a few hits before we start."

Middlebrooks went 2 for 3 with a double and a triple. He drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the seventh and is batting .362 this spring (17 for 47).

Aaron Hicks had two hits for the Twins, driving in their only run with a seventh-inning double. He is hitting .340 this spring (16 for 47).

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz went 0 for 2 with a strikeout, dropping his average to .054 (2 for 37) with 13 strikeouts.

Correia was satisfied with his final outing before facing the Chicago White Sox in his first regular-season start. In four games and 17 innings this spring, he gave up nine earned runs on 19 hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

"I was able to get six innings in my start before this, so I wasn't really pressed to go deep into the game," Correia said. "I just wanted to get a decent amount of pitches. We've got an extra day (Tuesday) after the start of the season. I just wanted to get through that last start healthy and happy."