Minnesota will look to escape Boston with a series split as they face right hander Josh Beckett in tonight's game four finale. This evening's scarp, which also features the Twins' Nick Blackburn, is scheduled to get underway at 7:10pm ET at Fenway Park; it will be broadcast live on ESPN. The latest MLB Odds have the Red Sox listed as a heavy -230 moneyline favorite while the game total is set at 8.5.
Minnesota came to Boston fresh off a two game sweep of division rival Chicago, and it looked as though the team might 
finally be headed in the right direction after taking out the Red Sox 9-2 in game one. That brief run now appears to be an anomaly with the Twins losing games two and three to Boston by a combined score of 13-5.
Despite giving up three runs in the first inning of last night's contest, the Red Sox went on to win handily, cranking out 14 hits and nine runs to improve to 16-18 on the season. Four Boston players finished the afternoon with a mutli-hit game, including Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez, both of which went 3-for-5 at the plate.
The Twins, which rank dead last in runs scored, managed eight hits as Justin Morneau struggled through an 0-for-4, three strikeout game.
Nick Blackburn, who snapped a string of three consecutive horrific starts his last time out, will look to cool off the Sox tonight as he heads to the hill for his seventh start of the season. Blackburn is 2-4 this year with a 4.41 ERA; he has walked 13 and struck out 15 in 34.2 innings of work. The Oklahoma native is 2-1 lifetime against Boston with a 4.79 ERA.
Countering Blackburn tonight is former World Series MVP Josh Beckett. Beckett, who had his worst outing of the season in an April 27th start at Baltimore (four earned runs allowed), bounced back in his last outing, giving up just one hit and no earned runs over 4.1 innings in a rain shorted start against the Angels. Beckett is 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA in six 2011 appearances.
MLB Predictions Betting Trend: Boston is 9-1 straight up in its last 10 games playing as a home favorite against the Twins. Average margin of victory…4.6 runs per game.
Twins vs Red Sox Odds 2011 MLB Predictions:
Minnesota Twins +1.5 (-110), Over 8.5 (-110), +190 (Moneyline)
Boston Red Sox -1.5 (-110), Under 8.5 (-110), -230 (Moneyline)
