Right now, the Twins are getting the big hits. Brian Dozier's eleventh home run of the season was a three-run shot that lifted the Twins from a one-run deficit to a two-run lead, and with the Mariners offense in Minnesota's wake it would have taken a very special comeback indeed for the Twins to lose it. The victory pushes the Twins to 21-20; it's the furthest into a season that Minnesota has been over .500 since 2010.
Kurt Suzuki's hard liner off the glove of Kyle Seager at third base allowed Dozier to score from second. The Mariners took the lead in the third when James Jones tripled, scoring Brad Miller, and then scoring himself on a sac fly from Michael Saunders.
But Seattle rarely had a well-struck ball off of Samuel Deduno. Deduno allowed just one hit after the two-run third, and on the night recorded four strikeouts. All of them came on the curveball. He kept the breaking ball low, getting a mix of swinging strikes at balls in the dirt and freezing hitters as the pitch broke low through the zone.
The Twins would take the lead on Dozier's three-run shot in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Aaron Hicks and Eduardo Escobar notched back-to-back singles, and then Dozier took Roenis Elias deep. Considering the location of the breaking ball, it's amazing that the ball went for anything other than a roll over to second base or a weak pop up. But Dozier is on fire, and he struck it perfectly. The ball dropped over the fence in left field.
Brian Duensing would work around a leadoff double in the seventh to put up a scoreless frame, and while Saunders' solo shot off of Jared Burton in the eighth made the game close Glen Perkins put the game away for his third save in as many days.
Notes
- Dozier is the only player in baseball with double-digit homers and stolen bases.
- Suzuki hit cleanup today, going 1-for-3 with an RBI double.
- Chris Colabello was 0-for-3, and hasn't had a hit in 12 days.
- Aaron Hicks hit in his fourth straight game since his "Call to Gardy" meeting, making him 5-for-13 with three walks in that span.
- Eduardo Escobar is riding a seven-game hitting streak, and in games started in May has gone hitless only once. He's batting .358/.382/.604 this month, with a homer and ten doubles.
Win Expectancy
Duds
NOBODY TWINS WIN AND OVER .500 WHAT