Pablo López strikes out 8 in 6 innings as Twins beat Red Sox 3-1 for 12th straight victory

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pablo López struck out eight in six strong innings, Max Kepler homered and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

The Twins have the longest winning streak in the majors this season. Minnesota’s run matches the team’s winning streak from late in the 1980 season, which is the second-longest in Twins history. The club record for consecutive wins in 15, from June 1991, which is the last season Minnesota won the World Series.

“It’s been fun, and I think you are not seeing guys try to do more than we know what to do. That’s always the biggest thing,” López said.

Kepler and Willi Castro each had two hits, Carlos Correa had two RBIs. Closer Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless eighth inning against the middle of the Red Sox order, and Cole Sands pitched a scoreless final inning for his second save.

“From the outside, people probably wouldn’t have guessed it would be Cole closing it there,” reliever Steven Okert said. “Coaching staff having confidence in all of us is great.”

Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith had two hits apiece for Boston, which has lost three straight games.

Kepler homered off Cam Booser (0-1) in the fourth inning. Booser was the third of five pitchers used in a bullpen game.

Castro singled leading off the sixth, advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches by Justin Slaten and scored on a sacrifice fly by Correa for a 3-1 lead.

Briefly tended to by trainers after covering first base in the second inning and bumping into the runner after he touched the bag, López allowed five hits and struck out seven of the last 12 hitters he faced.

“To really bunch a bunch of good games together, you need guys to just take the mound and lead the way. And Pablo was excellent today,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

“No one wants to be the guy that makes the streak stop in any way, shape or form. I think I just took advantage of the momentum, the good thing that we have going on and I kind of let it take over me and then just let things flow,” López said.

López struck out Rafael Devers on a high fastball with a tying run on third to end the fifth. Devers, who stared at home plate umpire Lance Barksdale for several seconds after a called second strike two pitches earlier, slammed his helmet in disgust.

“That’s part of the game of course, when you go out there, to work out an at-bat and you get one called a strike inside like that, it gets you out of your gameplan. You have to keep battling in that at-bat. You have to keep fighting,” Devers said through an interpreter.

Devers struck out against Okert with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. This time the bat got spiked.

Boston has gone six straight games without a home run, its longest streak since six in a row April 23-28, 2022.

Smith nearly ended that streak leading off the seventh, but his line drive hit high off the wall in right field. The carom was played perfectly by Kepler, who fired a strike to Correa at second. Seeing he was easily out Smith didn’t bother sliding.

“We have put some good at-bats, sometimes some good pressure, but not enough,” manager Alex Cora said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: 2B Vaughn Grissom did not play Saturday, one day after he returned from the 10-day injured list (hamstring). The plan is for him to start Sunday and both upcoming games in Atlanta. … Nick Pivetta, on the 15-day disabled list since April 6 with a right elbow flexor strain, is expected to be activated for a Wednesday start in Atlanta. He made a Triple-A rehab start Thursday.

UP NEXT

The teams wrap up the three-game series Sunday with Boston RHP Cooper Criswell (2-1, 1.65) and Minnesota RHP Joe Ryan (1-1, 3.38) the scheduled starters.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Minnesota Twins' Max Kepler is congratulated after his solo home run against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' Willi Castro, left, celebrates with Max Kepler, right, after scoring on a sacrifice fly hit by Carlos Correa during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brennan Bernardino delivers against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Boston Red Sox Tyler O'Neill celebrates his double against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' Carlos Correa runs to first base on an RBI groundout against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Boston Red Sox second baseman David Hamilton throws to first base to get out Minnesota Twins' Carlos Santana during the second inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers reacts after striking out against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins' starting pitcher Pablo López delivers against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Members of the Minnesota Twins celebrate their team's win over the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A 20-minute drive separates the historic Maracana Stadium from the Complexo do Alemao, one of Rio de Janeiro's most impoverished and violent favelas.

One of its residents, 15-year-old soccer player Kaylane Alves dos Santos, hopes her powerful shots and impressive dribbles will allow her to cover that short distance from slum to stadium in three years to play for Brazil's national team in the final of the 2027 Women's World Cup.

That chance, once remote, became more realistic on Friday when FIFA members voted to make Brazil the first Latin American country to host the Women's World Cup.

Local organizers have suggested that both the opening match and the final are likely to be played at the 78,000-seat Maracana Stadium that staged the final matches of the 1950 and the 2014 men's soccer World Cups.

Teenager dos Santos knows the hurdles for her to ever play for Brazil remain enormous — in 2027 or later. She doesn't have a professional club to play for, she only trains twice a week, and her nutrition is not the best due to limited food choices in the favela.

Most importantly, she often can't leave home to play when police and drug dealers shoot at each other in Complexo do Alemao.

Still, she is excited and hopeful about Brazil hosting the Women's World Cup, resulting in a big boost to her confidence.

“We have a dream (of playing for Brazil in the Women’s World Cup), and if we have that chance it will be the best thing in the world,” dos Santos told The Associated Press this week after a training session in the Complexo do Alemao.

She and about 70 other young women in the Bola de Ouro project train on an artificial grass pitch in a safe region of the 3-square kilometers long (1.15 square mile) community.

If not on the pitch, Dos Santos and her teammates will be happy enough just to attend games of a tournament they could only dream of watching up close until FIFA members voted for Brazil over the Germany-Netherlands-Belgium joint bid. The Women's World Cup was played for the first time in 1991 and will have its 10th edition in 2027.

A five-time champion in men's soccer, more than any other country, Brazil has yet to win its first Women's World Cup trophy. By then, it is unlikely superstar Marta, aged 38, will be in the roster. Dos Santos and thousands of young female footballers who have overcome sexism to take up the sport are keen to get inspiration from the six-time FIFA player of the year award winner and write their own history on home soil.

As many female footballers experience in Brazil, dos Santos and her teenage teammates rarely play without boys on their teams. Until recently, they also had to share the pitch with five-year-old girls, which didn't allow the older players to train as hard as they would like.

“(The Women's World Cup in Brazil) makes us focus even more in trying to get better. We need to be able to play in this,” said 16-year-old Kamilly Alves dos Santos, Kaylane's sister and also a player on the team. “We need to keep training, sharing our things."

Their team, which has already faced academy sides of big local clubs like Botafogo, is trained by two city activists who once tried to become players themselves.

Diogo Chaves, 38, and Webert Machado, 37, work hard to get some of their players to the Women's World Cup in Brazil, but if that's not possible they will be happy by keeping them in school.

Their non-profit group is funded solely by donations.

“At first, basically, the children wanted to eat. But now we have all of this,” said Chaves, adding that the project began three years ago. “We believe they can get to the national team. But our biggest challenge is opportunity. There's little for children from here, not only for the girls.”

Machado said the two coaches “are not here to fool anyone” and do not believe all the young women they train will become professionals.

“What we want from them is for they to be honest people, we all need to have our character,” Machado said. “We want to play and make them become nurses, doctors, firefighters, some profession in the future."

The two dos Santos sisters, as do many of their teammates, believe that reaching the Women's World Cup as Complexo do Alemao residents is possible. Brazil has more than 100 professional women's soccer teams, with other players living in favelas, too.

But it won't be easy.

“Sometimes I have to cancel appointments because of shootings, because there’s barricades on fire,” she said. “Sometimes police tell us to go back home, they say we can’t come down and point their guns to me, to my mother,” said Kamilly.

Her sister hopes the pair will overcome the violence, against the odds.

“I want to earn my living in soccer, fulfill all dreams," Kaylane says. "And I want to leave the Complexo do Alemao. I want to make it happen.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

An overhead view of the pitch where young women take part in a soccer training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Agatha smiles during a soccer training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Young women are participating in soccer programs led by community trainers, where they receive both sports and personal development training. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Agatha strikes a ball during a soccer training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Young women are participating in soccer programs led by community trainers, where they receive both sports and personal development training. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Young women ready breakfast for fellow participants as part of a soccer training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Young women are participating in soccer programs led by community trainers, where they receive both sports and personal development training. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Relatives watch a soccer training session for young women run by the Bola de Ouro social program at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Young women are participating in soccer programs led by community trainers, where they receive both sports and personal development training. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Young women and their coach Dioguinho bring it in for a team huddle at the start of a soccer training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024. Young women are participating in soccer programs led by community trainers, where they receive both sports and personal development training. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)