MINNEAPOLIS -- If anyone needed a game-winning hit in extra innings, it was Aaron Hicks. The once-prized Minnesota Twins prospect was hitting just .161 and was challenged by manager Ron Gardenhire and acting general manager Rob Antony the day before to take a more professional approach to the game. Hicks responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th and Phil Hughes struck out eight in six innings to help the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the series finale on Thursday. Many think the only reason Hicks was not sent down already was because of the injuries that have decimated an already thin outfield group. Gardenhire and Antony both said they didnt feel Hicks was doing the necessary homework behind the scenes to be ready every day. "Maybe preparing is something I need to try to do more," Hicks said. "Try things to be able to make my game better and have an edge on the game." All-Star closer Glen Perkins blew his second save of the season, giving up a two-run single to Will Middlebrooks with the bases loaded that tied the game in the ninth. But Kurt Suzuki doubled down the left-field line and Hicks lined a 3-2 pitch to left field off of Andrew Miller (1-2) to win it. "Its such a big hit in a big situation," Hicks said. "It just comes down to how much heart you have in the game. Thats the kind of player I am. I like to play with passion and I dont like the way Ive been playing so far. But its something that sometimes youve got to go through in order to be able to make that next step into becoming a better player." Mike Carp had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, but David Ortiz was a quiet 1 for 4 with a single after going deep twice in each of the first two games of the series. Hughes gave up five hits and no walks and Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who took two of three from the defending champions. Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar each had three hits and Brian Duensing (1-1) picked up the win. Clay Buchholz gave up three runs on 10 hits and struck out six in six innings for the Red Sox. The Red Sox hitters had been doing well recently, with Ortizs personal home run derby contributing to 28 runs over their previous four games. But Hughes put those hot bats on ice on a day when the temperature was 46 degrees at first pitch. Hughes knows Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and the Red Sox lineup well from years of facing them while he was in the Yankees rotation. "He pitches more comfortable here, it seems," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They threw a lot of strikes, didnt issue many bases on balls. Didnt have a whole lot going for the first eight." Hughes retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, won a 14-pitch battle with Xander Bogaerts to end the fifth inning and finished with more strikeouts against the Red Sox than he had in his previous 22 appearances against them. "Im going after them," Hughes said. "Thats been my game plan and has continued to be. Just attack with my fastball and get some flyouts, some strikeouts, swings and misses. I just tried to stay aggressive the entire time." Gardenhire said he hopes Hicks big hit will be the jumpstart his young centre fielder needs. "Hes working at it. Thats all weve asked him to do, study and work and hes doing that," Gardenhire said. "Thats a big hit for him. Nice to see him smile in a big situation like that." NOTES: Farrell gave OFs Grady Sizemore and Shane Victorino the day off. Farrell said the oft-injured Sizemore is doing fine and would play a lot this weekend while Victorino is resting a sore left knee. ... The Twins gave SS Danny Santana the day off to rest some sore legs, Gardenhire said. ... University of Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill threw out the first pitch shortly after announcing a $100,000 donation to start the Chasing Dreams foundation for epilepsy research. ... The Red Sox head home to open a series against Detroit on Friday. LHP Jon Lester (4-4, 2.75) will start for Boston against Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.04). ... The Twins start a series against Seattle on Friday. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-3, 4.74) will start against Mariners RHP Chris Young (3-0, 2.63). Rock Ya-Sin Colts Jersey . -- Down to 10 men and behind on the scoreboard, Toronto FC displayed its perseverance. Reggie Wayne Colts Jersey . Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel also accused Pistorius of tailoring his testimony to fit the evidence at the scene. Pistorius denied the accusations. Nel alleged that the Olympic runner changed his aim with his 9 mm pistol to ensure that he hit Steenkamp as she fell back against a magazine rack in a toilet cubicle. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authent...r-colts-jersey/. Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. Quenton Nelson Youth Jersey . Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Rock Ya-Sin Jersey .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Its an "Ace" of a day here in South New Jersey and Im in a very happy mood. I recorded my first ever hole-in–one this morning on the par 3, 135 yard fourth hole at the Atlantic City Country Club with an eight iron into a stiff wind and drizzle off the Bay. As they say, even a blind squirrel (or ref) can find a nut once in a while! Enjoy the games tonight. - Kerry Hi Kerry, In seemingly all of his games since the playoffs have started, Brad Marchand has had a talking to by the referee for stick work after the whistle. The commentators keep referring to Marchand getting "a warning." But if this is happening every game, shouldnt these warnings turn into penalties at some point? Does the league allow or encourage officials to pass this type of information on from one game to the next? Thanks,JonathanToronto, ON Jonathan: NHL officials do share information with one another. The fastest lines of communication are the telephone, telegraph and tell a ref! The series supervisor updates each new crew at a game-day noon meeting as to what has taken place in previous games. There are no surprises; especially when it comes to certain hotspots the officials need to be aware of involving players from both teams. The referees want to do their very best to allow the players to play on the edge while maintaining an element of control; especially in a game seven. With regard to game control, the intelligent official will communicate with players and coaches when he deems it necessary to bring their negative emotions down a notch. I often noticed that player aggression could escalate during a shift or subsequent shifts. It was almost like a snowball rolling down a hill that gathered momentum. It was almost predictable as a player became less disciplined and likely to commit an infraction resulting in a penalty call. Im not referring to some spontaneous retaliation or foul but a tendency that players demonstrated to lose their discipline through a series of ragged play. Scrums and confrontations after the whistle are the most opportune time for player hostilities and paybacks to escalate. Scrums take the focus away from playing the game to instead administering punishment or getting even. When that occurs the refs have to take measures to get players refocused; usually with the fear that a penalty will be called to re-establish acceptable guidelines. The most successful refs are the one that get the players to play on their terms without having to continually lay the hhammer down! The entertainment value of the game is maximized whenever that takes place.dddddddddddd There comes a point though when the communication efforts have no effect and the refs arm must go up to call a penalty. I just dont want to single out Brad Marchand of the Bruins. Brendan Gallagher of the Habs is another pesky little guy that can really stir things up. Both are emotional players that bring plenty of energy to their game and can draw a crowd. Whether it is going hard to the net and making contact with the goalkeeper or initiating contact after the whistle in an effort to draw a foul, both players have earned the right to be on the refs radar screen. Officials develop a working relationship with all players. Throughout that relationship building process a player has to clearly know when a referee means business; when he has had enough and the hammer is about to fall! Speaking from personal experience, players didnt often mistake my piercing look and terse body language or tone for knowing when it was time to back off and take their foot off the gas pedal. When I issued a "warning" to a player I often told him I could be his best advocate or his worst friggin nightmare - the choice was his? A referee can also solicit the assistance of a respected team leader or captain that he has a good relationship with to get his teammate under control before the ref is forced to take action. I often used the coach in this capacity to instill some discipline in one of his players. When I had enough of the scrums (which was very quickly) I went to each coach and told them I had enough and was going to penalize one player only in a scrum. Since it might just be their player I asked them to take control before I was forced to put his team down a man! They usually cooperated; if not it only took one such penalty for them to understand I meant business. What the referees are attempting to do with a player like Brad Marchand is to establish some self-discipline through an element of reason. Reminding the player that taking a penalty will put his team in the