Twins' lead in AL Central down to 1 after Boston bludgeoning

The Twins were held scoreless until Buxton, Lewis and Kepler each homered in garbage time.

Remember when Byron Buxton said the Minnesota Twins' lineup was "nasty" and "dangerous" following a win over the Dodgers on May 16? That win had the Twins at 24-19, equalling a season-best five games over .500. Minnesota has lost 19 of 31 since, including a 10-4 drubbing at the hands of the Red Sox Tuesday night. 

Boston bludgeoned the Twins with five runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing, three-run double by Christian Arroyo. Arroyo also homered and finished the night 5-for-5 with four RBI, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

Despite being two games under .500 (36-38), the Twins are still in first place in the AL Central. But their lead is down to one game over the Cleveland Guardians (34-38), who beat the A's 3-2 in 10 innings. 

Related: Byron Buxton 'physically can't play outfield for Twins

Sign up: Subscribe to our free Minnesota Twins newsletters

That "dangerous" lineup Buxton bragged about? Well, the Twins have scored three or fewer runs in 17 of 31 games since his May 16 comment. 

The Twins scored all four runs in the final two innings Tuesday night, all of them on homers. Buxton slugged a two-run homer in the eighth and Royce Lewis and Max Kepler hit back-to-back homers in the ninth. 

Up next: Twins vs. Red Sox, Wednesday at 6:40 p.m.