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The Boston Red Sox Friday, June 22, 2018 * The Boston Globe Video study helped Mookie Betts break slump Peter Abraham MINNEAPOLIS — Mookie Betts came off the disabled list on June 11. But it was not until the last few days that he looked like the player he was before straining an abdominal muscle last month. Betts was 3 for 6 with an opposite-field home run in Thursday’s 9-2 victory against the Minnesota Twins. He has five hits in his last nine at-bats. “Result-wise, yeah, it was great,” manager Alex Cora said. “I think they found something earlier today and we’ll see how far that goes.” Betts said he and the coaches reviewed video of at-bats before the injury and that helped him get back into a better rhythm at the plate. Betts also made an interesting defensive play in the sixth inning. With Joe Mauer up, Betts moved deep into the gap, roughly 35 yards off the foul line. Sure enough, Mauer hit a line drive right at him. What would have been an easy double was instead an easy out. Betts pulled an index card out of his back pocket and waved it at the dugout with a big smile. “That was a big topic before the game,” said Cora, who explained that the team’s analytical staff recommended a radical shift against Mauer. [The players] see stuff like that and they panic.” The Sox coaches called back to Boston to check it out and we’re told the information was accurate. After starting pitcher Rick Porcello gave his approval, the information was included on the cards the Sox fielders carry as a reference. “I’m glad that it happened,” Cora said. “They believe in what we’re doing but sometimes they see something extreme and out of the ordinary. I know they’re happy, but I was like the happiest guy. Thank God they hit it right there. It reinforces what we’re doing.” Wright gets Mariners again Steven Wright is scheduled to face the Seattle Mariners for the second time in seven days on Friday when the Sox return to Fenway Park. Wright took an undeserved loss at Safeco Field on Saturday when he allowed one run on five hits over seven innings. Seattle won the game, 1-0. Wright will again oppose lefthander Wade LeBlanc, who two-hit the Sox over 7⅔ innings and struck out nine without a walk. When a conventional pitcher faces a lineup for the second time in a row, there are typically adjustments made in sequencing pitches or when to attack in certain counts. “You might wait until they adjust to you, but you’re ready to make changes,” Red Sox pitching coach Dana LeVangie said. “It can be a challenge.” But with a knuckleballer, there are only so many options. Wright can mix in an occasional four-seam fastball, but he’s at the mercy of how well his primary pitch moves. “He’s not going to break out a cutter and changeup,” LeVangie said. “But Steven has had good control of it. He can hit spots.” Wright faced the Toronto Blue Jays in back-to-back starts in April 2016. He allowed two runs on six hits over six innings in the second game but took a loss. “I don’t think either side has an advantage,” Wright said. “Their hitters have seen me, but if the ball is moving it won’t really matter. I pitch the way I pitch.” Wright is 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA in nine games. Since joining the rotation June 5, the righthander has allowed one run on 11 hits over 20⅔ innings and struck out 15 with eight walks. Manager Papi David Ortiz will manage the World Team in the All-Star Futures Games on July 15 at Nationals Park. The United States team will managed by Torii Hunter, one of Ortiz’s closest friends in baseball and a former teammate in Minnesota. The game, in its 20th year, is a showcase for top prospects. Rosters have not yet been announced. Ortiz has kept a relatively low profile in baseball since retiring after the 2016 season. He has a largely undefined position with the Red Sox that includes occasional appearances. This is first time working with Major League Baseball. Dozen more are signed The Sox signed 12 more players from their draft class, including second-round pick Nick Decker, a high school outfielder from New Jersey. Decker received $1.25 million to turn pro instead of playing at Maryland. The Sox also signed catcher Elih Marrero (eighth round), catcher Lane Milligan (17th round), righthander Eduardo Jimenez (18th round), third baseman Brandon Howlett (21st round), righthander Yusniel Padron- Artiles (22nd round), righthander Ryan Fernandez (23rd round), lefthander Logan Browning (24th round), outfielder Caleb Ramsey (25th round), righthander Kris Jackson (28th round), righthander Connor Berry (31st round), and outfielder Bramdon Perez (32nd round). All 12 were assigned to the Gulf Coast League. The Sox have signed 25 of the 40 players they drafted. The top unsigned player is 12th-round pick Chase Shugart, a righthander from the University of Texas. The Longhorns were eliminated from the College World Series on Wednesday and Shugart is expected to reach a deal soon. Holt settling in at second Brock Holt started at second base and was 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored. He also made two nice plays defensively from shallow right field while the Sox were in a shift. Holt has started four of the last six games at second base and may be taking the position away from Eduardo Nunez . Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI single in the ninth inning. But he was 4 of 35 (.114) on the road trip and is hitting .181 on the season with a .570 OPS. However, Bradley has a 0.2 WAR per Baseball-Reference.com, which is higher than Nunez, Rafael Devers, and Christian Vazquez . The Sox are 19-5 in series finales, 19-5 in day games, and 15-3 on getaway days . Hanley Ramirez, who was released June 1 and remains a free agent, doesn’t seem too concerned. His Instagram story on Thursday included a photo of a gold watch on his wrist with a Ferrari key fob also in the shot. The next photo was of two tropical drinks. Ramirez has been spending time at his home in Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic as the Sox pay off his $22 million deal. Rick Porcello is sharp as Red Sox rout Twins in trip finale Peter Abraham MINNEAPOLIS — Twins starter Kyle Gibson wanted nothing to do with facing J.D. Martinez in the first inning of Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. Martinez has hit Gibson hard over the years, and with Mookie Betts on first base with one out, Gibson was not going to take any chances. His first pitch was up and in and knocked Martinez down. Martinez walked on four pitches. Gibson executed his strategy, if a little too aggressively. Rick Porcello was paying attention. When Eduardo Escobar, Minnesota’s No. 3 hitter, came to the plate in the bottom of the inning, Porcello’s first pitch was a remorseless fastball that darted inside and hit Escobar on the right elbow. In protecting Martinez, Porcello was a good teammate. He was an even better one as the game unfolded, pitching seven shutout innings as the Sox beat the Twins, 9-2. In what was a close game for six innings, Porcello never cracked and gave the Sox a much-needed victory after losing four of five. “We definitely needed a win today,” he said after allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out five. The Sox finished 6-4 on their road trip. They’re still two games behind the Yankees but feeling much better than they did after scoring three runs in the first two games of the series. Porcello is 9-3 and dropped his earned run average to 3.44, a strong season well underway. But that was secondary to lifting the Sox out of their slump. Nick Cafardo: Rick Porcello made sure the Red Sox got a win they needed “I definitely want to be the guy on the mound,” Porcello said. “I think if you ask any of the starters, we’d all say that. That’s part of being a competitor and trying to help our ball club. “I don’t want to be in a situation where we need a bounce-back game. But I look forward to having the ball and trying to stop the bleeding.” Porcello allowed a two-out single by Logan Morrison in the first inning. He then retired 19 of the final 20 batters he faced, the final 16 in a row. Porcello, who threw 65 of 97 pitches for strikes, easily could have gone another inning but came out with the Sox ahead, 8-0. “He was great,” manager Alex Cora said. “He’s a guy, he’ll give you everything he has.” Porcello allowed four runs over six innings at Seattle last Friday. But Cora thought the final inning was his best of the season because of improvements in his tempo. That continued against the Twins. It took a while to get going, but the Sox got their offense in gear. Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi hit home runs and Xander Bogaerts a big two-run double. The Sox had 16 hits, six for extra bases. With the exception of Rafael Devers, every starter had at least one hit.

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