BOSTON (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins erased an early deficit with a four-run seventh inning and held on for an 8-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park.

The Twins, who improved to 24-27, trailed 6-3 after four innings but scored four times in the seventh on home runs by Byron Buxton and Austin Martin. Minnesota added a run in the ninth to put the game out of reach. The Red Sox fell to 22-28 before a crowd of 34,740 in a game that lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes.

Boston stormed out of the gate with four runs in the first inning. Jarren Duran walked to lead off and scored on a double by Wilyer Abreu. Willson Contreras followed with a triple that brought home Abreu. Andruw Monasterio singled to score Contreras, and after a single by Nick Sogard put runners at first and third, Marcelo Mayer lifted a sacrifice fly to center that drove in Monasterio for a 4-0 lead.

Minnesota answered with three runs in the second. Josh Bell singled and Gabriel Gonzalez walked. Ryan Kreidler doubled to left, scoring Bell. Kody Clemens reached on a fielding error by Boston pitcher Payton Tolle, loading the bases. Luke Keaschall singled to right, driving in Gonzalez, and after Alex Jackson struck out, Buxton singled to left to plate Kreidler. The Twins cut the lead to 4-3 but left the bases loaded when Brooks Lee struck out and Austin Martin popped out.

Boston extended its lead with two runs in the fourth. Nick Sogard singled and Marcelo Mayer struck out. Carlos Narváez singled to center, moving Sogard to third. Caleb Durbin attempted a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error by Minnesota pitcher Connor Prielipp allowed Sogard to score and Durbin to reach second. Duran grounded out to first, scoring Narváez, making it 6-3.

The Twins’ seventh-inning outburst began with Keaschall singling off Boston reliever Justin Slaten. Alex Jackson struck out, but Buxton followed with a two-run homer to center field, his 16th of the season, cutting the deficit to 6-5. Brooks Lee walked, and Austin Martin launched a two-run homer to left-center, his second of the year, giving Minnesota a 7-6 lead. Josh Bell grounded out, Gonzalez singled, and Kreidler singled to put runners at first and second, but Clemens grounded out to end the inning.

Minnesota added an insurance run in the ninth. Brooks Lee reached on a fielding error by third baseman Nick Sogard. Austin Martin bunt-singled to first, and James Outman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Trevor Larnach walked, forcing in Lee to make it 8-6. Kreidler struck out, Clemens flied out, and Keaschall grounded into a forceout to end the threat.

Boston mounted a brief challenge in the ninth. Duran struck out but reached on a wild pitch by Minnesota reliever Anthony Banda. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out, and Abreu grounded into a double play to end the game.

Travis Adams (1-0) earned the win for Minnesota, allowing six runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked three. Banda got the save, his first of the season, tossing a scoreless ninth despite the wild pitch.

Slaten (0-2) took the loss for Boston. He faced five batters in the seventh, allowing four runs on four hits and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning. Greg Weissert relieved for the Red Sox and pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit.

Key offensive contributions for the Red Sox included Abreu, who went 2 for 5 with a double and a run batted in. Monasterio was 1 for 2 with a walk and an RBI. Narváez singled in three at-bats. Sogard singled twice and scored a run. Duran was 0 for 4 but drove in a run with a groundout.

For the Twins, Buxton homered and singled, driving in three runs. Martin homered and singled, driving in two runs. Keaschall singled twice and had an RBI. Kreidler doubled and singled.

The Twins’ victory came after they had lost two of three at home to the Houston Astros earlier in the week, including a 2-1 defeat Tuesday and a 4-1 win Wednesday. Boston, meanwhile, had swept a three-game series at Kansas City, winning 4-3, 7-1 and 3-1.

Friday’s game was the first of a three-game set between the two teams at Fenway. The Twins had taken two of three from the Red Sox in Minneapolis in mid-April, winning 13-6 and 6-0 before losing 9-5. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

Minnesota’s next 10 games include the remaining two in Boston, followed by four at the Chicago White Sox, three at Pittsburgh and a home opener against Chicago on June 1. Boston will host the Twins again Saturday and Sunday, then welcome the Atlanta Braves for three games before traveling to Cleveland.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota Twins 5, Boston Red Sox 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Boston with a 60.90 percent probability to win. Boston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 14 went under the over/under line of 8.