Red Sox blank Twins with Ramirez single

BOSTON (Reuters) - Manny Ramirez hit a run-scoring single in the eighth inning for the game's only run to give the Boston Red Sox a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

The Red Sox returned home after going 3-7 on a 10-game road trip that left them five games behind the surging Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.

They picked up a game on the Rays when Tampa lost 7-4 in 10 innings to the Kansas City Royals at home on Monday.

Minnesota had won five successive games, 16 wins out of 18, to pull within a game of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

However, they lost a half-game on the White Sox after a brilliant pitching duel between Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and Minnesota's Scott Baker.

Matsuzaka pitched 7 1-3 innings, allowing six hits, walking three and striking out five. Baker matched him over seven innings, allowing just five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

It was the first time in three starts since he came off the disabled list on June 21 that the Japanese player had pitched beyond five innings.

"Of all our starting pitchers, I'm the only one who hasn't been able to get really deep into the games," Matsuzaka said.

"So what I've been trying to do is go deep into the game and help out the bullpen."

Boston manager Terry Francona added: "He got deep enough where we're not trying to get four innings out of our bullpen in a one-run game.

"That is huge for us, especially after the way we played on the road trip.

"We did some real nice things. If you throw a zero up there for nine innings, a lot of people are doing nice things."

OKAJIMA ESCAPES

Hideki Okajima (2-2) relieved Matsuzaka and escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth for the win, while Jonathan Papelbon got the final three outs for his 26th save.

Dustin Pedroia led off the eighth with a double off the left field wall off reliever Brian Bass (3-3), extending his career-best hitting streak to 15 games.

J.D. Drew's grounder advanced Pedroia to third and he then scored on Ramirez's single through a drawn-in infield.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire felt Bass made the right decision pitching to Ramirez.

"He's a great hitter, but you don't want to walk him or get to the next guy," Gardenhire told reporters. "Keep putting more people on base at this ballpark, I don't think that's too wise, either.

"They finally came through and got a hit. Heck of a ballgame."

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto; Editing by Martin Petty)