BOSTON -- A year ago, Rick Porcello was hearing nearly as many boos as cheers in Fenway Park.Now, hes piling up wins in front of the home fans.Porcello became the first Boston pitcher in 55 years to open a season 10-0 in Fenway, and Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw both hit a three-run homer as the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 8-7 Sunday to earn a split of a four-game series.I just feel good here, Porcello said. I feel comfortable pitching in front of our crowd.Last year, the 27-year-old Porcello was expected to be an ace for the staff after the club acquired him from Detroit before the season, but he lost six of his first 11 starts at home and ended the year just 9-15 overall with a 4.92 ERA.Rick is in a very good place here in Fenway, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. You talk about dependable and reliable, he embodies that. He epitomizes that.Porcello (13-2) allowed five runs with eight strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings, becoming the first since Don Schwall in 1961 to win his first 10 Fenway decisions in a season.Dustin Pedroia hit a tiebreaking solo homer and Xander Bogaerts had three singles for Boston, which won its 10th time in 13 games.Juan Centeno had three hits and drove in three runs for the Twins, who completed a seven-game road trip 4-3 but gave up four unearned runs in a key inning.Youve got a chance to come in here and potentially beat a team thats been playing good -- three out of four, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. Unearned runs, theyre painful, theyre tough when you cant find a way to get off the field.Brad Ziegler got the final three outs for his first save with Boston after being acquired from Arizona earlier this month.The Red Sox surged ahead with five runs -- four unearned -- and chased Tommy Milone (3-3) in the fifth.Pedroia homered over the Green Monster. Third baseman Miguel Sano had a grounder go through his legs for an error that scored a run before Shaw belted his homer into Bostons bullpen, making it 8-3.The one to Shaw was just a curveball that hung over the middle of the plate, Milone said. He was waiting for it. They capitalized hard on the mistakes.Milone gave up eight runs -- four earned -- in 4 2/3 innings, snapping a personal three-game winning streak.The Twins scored two runs in the seventh and eighth innings, slicing it to 8-7.Ramirezs homer -- his fifth in five games -- went into the first row of Monster seats, with a fan making a nice standing, two-handed grab, to make it 3-2.The Twins tied it when Max Kepler tripled leading off the fourth before scoring on Kennys Vargas grounder.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: C Kurt Suzuki was out with stitches in his chin after getting hit in the face mask Saturday. Were trying to look at ways that we can potentially protect him if we needed to play him in an emergency, Molitor said.Red Sox: DH David Ortiz was rested. . Farrell said CF Mookie Betts right knee was improved and we hope that by (Monday) night hes back in the lineup. Betts left Fridays game with soreness in the knee.BULLPEN HELPThe Red Sox recalled RHP Joe Kelly from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game after sending RHP Heath Hembree there following Saturdays loss.Kelly has only started since being acquired in 2014, but has pitched 52 2/3 career innings of relief with a 3.25 ERA.KEY OUTJunichi Tazawa entered with bases-loaded and no outs in the eighth. He allowed two inherited runners to score, but struck out Byron Buxton on a splitter in the dirt to end the inning.NEW JEWELRYOrtiz wore a Boston Marathon medal in the dugout thats given to runners that finish.A friend of mine that ran the Marathon gave it to me, he said, pointing to it hanging in his locker. I wear my jewelry on different days. I just put it on.UP NEXT:Twins: Theyre off Monday before beginning a six-game homestand Tuesday. RHP Ervin Santana (3-8, 3.93) faces Atlanta RHP Lucas Harrell (1-2, 4.24) in the first of a two-game series.Red Sox: LHP Drew Pomeranz makes his second start for Boston Monday after being acquired from San Diego. He gave up five runs in three innings in his debut Wednesday against the Giants. RHP Justin Verlander (9-6, 3.74) is slated to go for the Tigers in the opener of a three-game series. Lyle Alzado Raiders Jersey . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Jim Plunkett Youth Jersey . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-Jim-Otto-Elite-Jersey/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Ted Hendricks Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Kenny Stabler Raiders Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Defensive end Chris Long and his New England teammates know enough about the Pittsburgh offense to realize the Steelers can be potent even without Ben Roethisberger.One of the best, maybe the best wide receiver corps in the league, best 1-2 punch at running back in the league, good tight ends, best offensive line in the league, up there, ... a ton of weapons, Long said Thursday, as the Patriots prepared for Sundays visit to Pittsburgh. Really good offense.The running back pair of LeVeon Bell and DeAngelo Williams and the wide receiver group led by Antonio Brown will be without Roethlisberger, who underwent arthroscopic left knee surgery after getting hurt in last weeks loss at Miami.Landry Jones will be the starter for first-place Pittsburgh.Weve watched a lot of their offense, said Long, a free agent signing who has gotten off to a strong start with his new team.I feel like we know these guys pretty well. That having been said, it doesnt make it any easier. From top to bottom its a really good unit.Bell has run for 263 yards (12 fewer than Williams) but has also caught 20 passes out of the backfield for 177 yards. He is still, however, looking for his first touchdown of the season (Brown has five, Williams three).In short, Bell is tough for any defense to handle, with or without his quarterback.You can just turn on the film and see where hes at, New England linebacker Donta Hightower said. The guy plays running back, he plays receiver, they line him up everywhere, they motion him.Hes not a one-trick pony. He has an extended route tree. They do a good job of being able to get him the ball whether its screens, out of the backfield or passes. Weve have to do a good job of just knowing where hes at all times.How impressed is New England coach Bill Belichick with Bell?Oh my God. Oh yeah, tremendous player, Belichick said Wednesday. Great hands, catch the ball, very quick, makes people miss. Strong, breaks tackles, exxcellent balance, tough, doesnt run out of bounds, fights for extra yardage.dddddddddddd Great player.Said Long: Its impressive. Hes really a prolific receiver out of the backfield, so we have to do good job on him in that regard, too. It kind of makes it double the challenge.Hightower sacked Andy Dalton for a safety, had another shared sack and was in on 13 tackles in New Englands win over Cincinnati last Sunday -- earning him AFC defensive player of the week honors.He was the first Patriots linebacker since Mike Vrabel, in 2007, to win the award. His performance helped turn around an afternoon that wasnt going well for New England -- the Patriots winning to go to 5-1 and they head to Heinz Field.Very tough at home. They do play really well at home, Long said. Theyve got great fans that make it a wild atmosphere up there, so it should be a tough challenge.Game notes Patriots players were not commenting on the $75,000 fine -- and no suspension -- levied against Cincinnatis Vontaze Burfict for his low hit on Martellus Bennett last Sunday. Thats last week. Thats the rules. Im worried about Pittsburgh, wide receiver Julian Edelman said. Im not getting caught in that one. Asked if the rule is a bad one, he said, Im not here to talk about rules, Im here to play football. Said tight end Rob Gronkowski: Its all up to the league. Ive got really no say in anything. ... Gronkowski on playing at Heinz Field: The atmosphere is just football atmosphere. Youve got great high school football there, youve got great college football there, youve got great NFL football there. Its just a football atmosphere -- they love their Steelers, they love going to the game and its going to be a great atmosphere come Sunday.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
