BOSTON (Interstat) — Taj Bradley pitched five solid innings and the Minnesota Twins capitalized on early scoring opportunities to defeat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, gaining a split of the first two games of their three-game series.

Bradley (5-1) allowed one run on three hits while striking out five and walking two. Taylor Rogers pitched the ninth inning for his second save, working around a walk and a hit to strand the bases loaded. Minnesota improved to 25-27, while Boston fell to 22-29.

The Twins scored two runs in the first inning off Boston starter Brayan Bello. Byron Buxton led off with a line-drive single to center field. Trevor Larnach followed with a single to left, and Austin Martin doubled down the left-field line, scoring Buxton and sending Larnach to third. Josh Bell then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Larnach for a 2-0 lead.

Bello settled down after that, retiring seven of the next nine batters he faced. He pitched five innings, giving up eight hits but no earned runs, striking out five. The right-hander was let down by his defense in the fifth inning, when the Twins added two more runs.

Larnach opened the fifth with a sharp single to right field. Martin singled to second base, and Bell reached on a fielder’s choice that loaded the bases when first baseman Willson Contreras committed a fielding error. After Kody Clemens flied out to left, Victor Caratini delivered a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Larnach. With runners on second and third, Orlando Arcia singled through the middle off Bello’s glove, scoring Martin to make it 4-0.

Boston got on the board in the fourth inning. Mickey Gasper singled leading off, and Willson Contreras followed with a single to third base. Ceddanne Rafaela then ripped a double to right-center field, scoring Gasper. Right fielder Austin Martin’s throw to the relay caught Contreras trying to score, ending the inning at 4-1.

The Red Sox mounted a ninth-inning rally against Rogers. Contreras led off with a single to left field. Rafaela walked, and Nick Sogard flied out to right. Masataka Yoshida grounded into a force out at second base, leaving Contreras at third with two outs. Connor Wong walked to load the bases, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drew a walk that forced in Contreras, trimming the lead to 4-2. Jarren Duran then struck out looking – a call upheld after a Red Sox challenge – to end the game.

Kiner-Falefa finished 0 for 3 with the walk and the RBI. Gasper went 1 for 3. Rafaela was 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI. Duran was 1 for 5 with three strikeouts. For the Twins, Martin had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Larnach collected three singles and a double, scoring twice. Buxton went 1 for 5 with three strikeouts.

Boston’s bullpen could not keep the deficit manageable. Reliever Jovani Morán (0-2) took the loss after allowing two earned runs on three hits in one inning, including Arcia’s run-scoring single. The Red Sox offense managed only five hits overall and struck out 11 times.

The teams meet again Sunday afternoon in the series finale. Minnesota then travels to Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox, while Boston stays home to host Atlanta for three games.

In the first inning, the Twins wasted no time against Bello. Buxton’s single, Larnach’s single and Martin’s double set the stage, and Bell’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Bello avoided further damage when Kody Clemens grounded out, but the early cushion proved sufficient.

Minnesota’s fifth-inning rally was aided by a defensive miscue. After Larnach and Martin singled, Bell’s grounder to first base was misplayed by Contreras, allowing the bases to be loaded. Clemens flied out, but Caratini’s sacrifice fly and Arcia’s single pushed the lead to 4-0. Bello struck out five over his five innings but was unable to escape the fifth unscathed.

Boston’s fourth-inning run came after Gasper singled and Contreras singled. Rafaela’s double scored Gasper, but Martin’s strong throw from right field cut down Contreras at the plate, preserving a three-run lead.

The Red Sox threatened again in the seventh when they put runners on first and second on an error and a walk, but Andruw Monasterio popped out and Connor Wong struck out to end the inning.

Rogers entered in the ninth and faced the heart of Boston’s order. Contreras singled, Rafaela walked and Sogard flied out. Yoshida grounded into a force out, and Wong walked to load the bases for Kiner-Falefa, who walked to force in a run. With the tying runs on base, Duran struck out looking on a borderline pitch that Boston challenged unsuccessfully, giving Rogers his second save.

The game drew 37,105 spectators and lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota 6, Boston 4. Its ELO system gave the Red Sox a 60.90 percent probability to win. Boston was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of six runs went over the over-under line of 8.5.