BOSTON -- The Minnesota Twins are heading home with a three-game winning streak. Doing it against the Boston Red Sox makes it more impressive. The Red Sox had the best record in the majors after they beat the Twins in the series opener. But after losing 5-3 in Thursday nights finale, they dropped out of first place in the AL East for the first time this season. "Its important that you kind of get that feeling about grinding things out (at) the end of a long road trip," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "These guys really stayed focused." Oswaldo Arcia hit a two-run homer and the Twins capitalized on a costly throwing error by Boston starter John Lackey to beat the Red Sox, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Boston won the opening game of the series 6-5 in 11 innings on Monday night. Then Minnesota came back to finish the road trip at 5-5. "To lose that first one, we could have very easily won that one, too," Minnesota starter Kevin Correia said. "So to come back and win three is huge." The Twins were 4 1-2 games out of first place in the AL Central when they arrived in Boston. They left trailing by 2 1-2. The Red Sox started the series with a 1 1-2 game lead over New York and Baltimore. They ended it percentage points behind the Yankees and tied with the Orioles for second. "I dont think anybody is worried about the last seven games," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "It is the big leagues and everybody is good." Lackey was pitching very well until his wild throw to second base on a potential inning-ending double play gave the Twins another chance in the sixth and they responded with four unearned runs, including two on Arcias homer, to take a 5-2 lead. "I have to make that one play and we win the game," Lackey said. "One play ruined it all." Correia (4-2) pitched 5 1-3 innings, his second shortest outing in seven starts this season. Then Brian Duensing got out of a sixth-inning jam and Gardenhire kept him in for the seventh. He finished with 1 2-3 hitless innings. "I appreciate the confidence" Gardenhire showed, Duensing said. "These are the type of situations you want to be in as a reliever." Jared Burton struck out the side in the eighth and Glen Perkins struck out two more in the ninth and got his eighth save in eight chances. Lackey (1-3) pitched well until his error, then came back to pitch a perfect seventh before Koji Uehara took over in the eighth. Lackey allowed six hits and one walk and struck out eight. The Red Sox finished with 11 strikeouts, the 21st time in 35 games theyve had at least 10. Boston threatened with one out in the eighth when Daniel Nava walked and Will Middlebrooks reached first when shortstop Eduardo Escobar bobbled his grounder. It was the Twins first error in 12 games. But Burton struck out Stephen Drew and Mike Carp. Trailing 2-1, the Twins went ahead to stay in the sixth. The inning began with a single by Joe Mauer. He took second on a one-out walk to Justin Morneau before Lackey flubbed a chance to get out of trouble. Trevor Plouffe grounded the ball back to the mound, but Lackey threw wildly past Pedroia into centre field. Mauer scored on the play, tying the game. "Youre looking for breaks in the game," Gardenhire said, "and that was a break for us." Ryan Doumits sacrifice fly gave Minnesota the lead before Arcia hit the next pitch into the right field seats for his third homer of the season. "The errant throw opened the door for them," Boston manager John Farrell said. "In the sixth inning (Lackey) was his own worst enemy. Other than that, I thought he pitched really well." The Red Sox had scored the first run of the game in the third on a double by Shane Victorino and an RBI single by Pedroia. They made it 2-0 in the fourth when Nava singled, took second on a groundout and scored on Drews single. The Twins scored a run in the fifth when Arcia tripled and scored on a double by Aaron Hicks. After falling behind 5-2, Boston scored in the sixth on a leadoff double by Mike Napoli and a run-scoring single by Nava. Middlebrooks then grounded into a forceout. Duensing replaced Correia and retired the next two batters. That was one of many wasted opportunities for Boston, which left exactly one runner on base in each of the first seven innings, two in the eighth and one in the ninth. NOTES: Twins SS Pedro Florimon was listed as day to day after leaving the game in the bottom of the seventh with a tight right hamstring. ... The Red Sox transferred closer Joel Hanrahan from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. He is scheduled to see orthopedist James Andrews on Friday, an examination that could determine if he needs surgery after suffering a strained right forearm. ... Boston opens a three-game series at home with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night with Jon Lester (4-0) pitching for the Red Sox against Ramon Ortiz (0-0). ... Minnesota starts a nine-game homestand Friday with Mike Pelfrey (3-3) pitching for the Twins against Jason Hammel (5-1) of the Orioles. Lonzo Ball College Jersey . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Bill Walton College Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.cheapuclajerseys.com/?tag=ucla-reggie-miller-college-jersey . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Brett Hundley College Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Josh Rosen College Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming.SAN DIEGO - Francisco Liriano struck out a season-high 13 and Pedro Alvarez hit his NL-leading 31st home run to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-1 victory against the San Diego Padres on Monday night. The Pirates, who had lost seven of nine coming in, maintained a one-game lead in the NL Central over St. Louis. The Padres struck out 17 times overall Monday night, giving them 59 in their last five games. Theyve lost nine of 13. Liriano (14-5) tied his career-high with his 14th victory. He helped give some relief to the Pirates bullpen, which was taxed when three of the previous six games went extra innings. Coming off a four-hit victory at St. Louis in his last start, Liriano held San Diego to four hits in seven innings while walking two. Lirianos previous season high was 11 strikeouts on June 1 against Cincinnati. His career high is 15. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth before Liriano got Ronny Cedeno to hit into a force. The Padres had runners in scoring position only two other times against Liriano. Ronny Cedeno hit a leadoff single in the third and advanced on a balk before Liriano struck out the side. Denorfia doubled to left with one out in the fifth and advanced to third on Will Venables groundout before Liriano struck out rookie Jedd Gyorko. In his last four starts after a Bucs loss, including Monday night, Liriano has pitched 30 innings and allowed only two earned runs. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances. He allowed Nick Hundleys RBI double with two outs. Alvarez, who had been tied for the NL lead with Arizonas Paul Goldschmidt, homered on an 0-1 pitch from Andrew Cashner with two outs in the sixth to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. It landed about six rows behind the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 party deck that sits atop the right-field wall. The Pirates scored twwo runs in the fourth on two singles and an error by right fielder Chris Denorfia.dddddddddddd With Andrew McCutcheon aboard on a leadoff single, Alvarez grounded a single to right field, which rolled under the glove of a charging Denorfia and went all the way to the fence, allowing both runners to score. Cashner (8-8) lost his third straight start. He allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits in seven innings, struck out three and walked two. NOTES: Padres CF Cameron Maybin returned to San Diego to have his injured knee re-examined by club doctors. Maybin has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson before the club shut him down. He probably is done for the season. ... Pirates RHP A.J. Burnett (5-8, 3.18) is scheduled to start against the Padres on Tuesday night. Hes 1-5 with a 4.93 ERA in seven career starts against the Padres, with the one victory being a no-hitter on May 12, 2001, while with the Marlins. Burnett walked nine that night. ... In his last start on Aug. 15, Burnett allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings and got a no-decision at St. Louis. Burnett has allowed 11 runs in his last two starts after throwing a complete-game victory Aug. 4 against the Rockies. ... The Padres will counter with Tyson Ross (3-5, 2.62) Tuesday night. ... LHP Wandy Rodriguez threw a bullpen session Monday. Rodriguez, who has been on the disabled list since June 11, retroactive to June 6, with tightness in his left forearm, said he still could "feel something" in his arm during the session. There is no timetable for his return. ... RHP Jason Grilli was scheduled to start throwing from a 120 feet Monday, manager Clint Hurdle said. Grilli has been on the DL since July 23 with a right forearm strain. ... RHP Ryan Reid was recalled Monday from Triple-A Indianapolis. This is Reids second stint with the Pirates. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '