Alex Kirilloff, Christian Vázquez homer in Twins spring training loss to Boston Red Sox

FORT MYERS, FLA. – The Twins emerged from an offensive funk Friday night when Alex Kirilloff and Christian Vázquez hit a pair of homers, but it didn’t solve their Grapefruit League road woes in an 8-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park.

Kirilloff lifted an opposite-field solo homer over Fenway South’s version of the Green Monster against Red Sox closer Kenley Jensen. Two batters later, Vázquez bashed his first homer of the spring over the wall in center field.

The two homers sparked a five-run sixth inning, matching the Twins’ number of runs across their previous 50 innings. The Twins continued a two-out rally with singles from Jose Miranda and Brooks Lee, a walk from Niko Goodrum, then a two-run single by nonroster invitee Michael Helman and an RBI double by Willi Castro.

Jordan Balazovic, who started Friday’s bullpen game, surrendered two hits and hit a batter before he was removed in the second inning, and Boston’s Jarren Duran followed with a two-run single off Matt Bowman. Reliever Justin Topa gave up two runs when he pitched in the fifth inning, including a solo homer to Rafael Devers, as the Twins fell to an AL-worst 6-13-2 this spring.