De La Rosa's Gem Pushes Red Sox Past Twins

Rubby De La Rosa is congratulated by David Ross after a stellar outing. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

Rubby De La Rosa tossed seven scoreless innings as the Boston Red Sox slipped past the Minnesota Twins 1-0 in the first of a three-game set at Fenway Park.

Making his fourth start of the year, De La Rosa (2-2) surrendered just one hit as he retired the final 13 Twins’ batters he faced. Overall, the 25-year-old right-hander set down 21 of 23 hitters in a dominant outing.

A sacrifice fly in the fifth inning off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski scored Daniel Nava from third and provided the only offense in a pitchers duel.

Kevin Correia (3-8) was the hard-luck loser for the Twins, allowing just one run off five hits in six innings of work.

Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller struck out Oswaldo Arcia to lead off the eighth inning, the only batter the southpaw faced. Burke Badenhop finished the eighth inning off for the Red Sox, but not before the Twins put a scare into the sold-out crowd in Boston. Badenhop loaded the bases, but got Brian Dozier to strike out swinging to get out of the jam.

Koji Uehara remained perfect in 15 save chances this season, shutting the Twins down in order in the ninth to secure the victory. Uehara, who lowered his ERA to 0.57, extended his streak to 31 straight saves over the past two regular seasons.

De La Rosa has yet to give up a run in 14 innings pitched at home this season. In his other Fenway start, De La Rosa also pitched seven shutout innings, holding Tampa Bay to four hits in win.

Tuesday night will feature the Twins’ Phil Hughes (7-2, 3.17) going up against Jon Lester (7-7, 3.33) for Boston.

Red Sox defeat Rangers behind Lackey, climb above .500 for first time since April 3

John Lackey earned his fifth victory of 2014 by beating the Texas Rangers on Sunday. (Jim Cowsert/USA Today Sports)

Right-hander John Lackey, a native of Abilene, Texas, felt right at home at Globe Life Park, leading the Boston Red Sox to a series win over the Rangers. Lackey went seven innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out nine in the Red Sox’s 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Pitching in Arlington, the city where he played his college ball at the University of Texas, Lackey gave the Red Sox a quality start in the rubber match of the series. His command was extraordinary, tossing 75 of his 105 pitches for strikes with no walks allowed.

The win moved the Red Sox above the .500 mark for the first time since April 3, the fourth day of the regular season. It was Lackey’s 20^th start at Globe Life Park, breaking a tie with Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez for the most as a visiting player. In earning the victory, Lackey improved his record at the Rangers’ ballpark to 8-7, though the 35-year-old has had his share of its struggles pitching in his home city.

“I like coming here. But it’s a terrible place to pitch,” Lackey said, via Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. “I’d rather be pitching back at Fenway, trust me.”

Lackey entered Sunday’s contest with a 6.61 career ERA at Globe Life Park. His earned run average at the Rangers’ ballpark is the second-highest of any visiting pitcher with at least 15 starts and 75 innings.

The Red Sox offense provided Lackey with early run support, making the right-hander's outing a lot less stressful. Mike Napoli hit a two-run double in the top of the first and two batters later A.J. Pierzynski followed with a RBI single to give the Sox a 3-0 before Lackey had stepped on the mound.

''It's nice to go out there when you already have a 3-0 lead,'' Lackey said, via foxsports.com. ''It kind of lets you relax a little bit and pound the strike zone.''

Over .500 for the first time since their opening-series victory in Baltimore, the Red Sox trail the Orioles by just two games for first-place in the ultra-competitive AL East.