BOSTON — It appears Mike Lowell wasn't the only Red Sox player snubbed in the recent American League All-Star selections.
Daisuke Matsuzaka let his pitching do the talking with 71/3 shutout innings, helping Boston past the Minnesota Twins last night, 1-0, here at Fenway Park.
Matsuzaka's earned run average plummeted to 2.84, but the right-hander did not pick up the win.
Manny Ramirez' game-winning hit, plating a scalding Dustin Pedroia, came in the bottom of the eighth, just after Matsuzaka (6 hits, 108 pitches) had yielded to Hideki Okajima.
Jonathan Papelbon plowed through the bottom third of the Twins' order for his 26th save and Boston's second shutout in its last five games.
The shutout came at just the right time for Boston.
Minnesota hit Fenway riding a five-game win streak with 18 victories in the last 21. Over that span the Twins had been putting up 6.3 runs a game.
It ended with a thud last night thanks to Matsuzaka, who struck out five and walked three.
With the win, the Red Sox cut the deficit to 4.5 games (6 in the loss column) in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa had lost earlier in the day, 7-4, to Kansas City in 10 innings.
Matsuzaka remains 9-1 and will get one more start in the Sox' final game before the All-Star break, Sunday here vs. Baltimore.
Second-guessing time
With a runner on third with no out in the bottom of the eighth in a scoreless game, Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire pitched to Manny Ramirez and paid for it.
Ramirez belted an outside fastball to right, plating Pedroia, who had doubled and moved to third on J.D. Drew's groundout.
The double preserved Pedroia's hitting streak, which now stands at 15 games. The white-hot second-baseman is now 32 for 66 (.485) over that span.
Lost in the victory
Reliever Hideki Okajima had his second straight strong outing, pitching out of a first-and-second, one-out jam in the eighth. The southpaw improved to 2-2 with the win.
Masterton heading to pen
In light of their recent bullpen problems, the Red Sox dropped Justin Masterton to Triple A Pawtucket. Masterson, 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA in nine starts, will be groomed for a switch to the pen. Outfielder Jeff Bailey, hitting .301 for the PawSox, replaced Masterson on the roster, a promotion that, barring injury, will last all of four days.
Friday, Clay Buchholz (2-3, 5.53 ERA in eight big league starts this season) is expected to replace Masterson in the Boston starting rotation against Baltimore.
On tap tonight: Minnesota's Nick Blackburn (7-4, 3.78 ERA) vs. Boston's Jon Lester (7-3, 3.21 ERA) at 7 p.m.
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