Minnesota Twins: Dozier Walks Off Marlins in 11
On a night where the Minnesota Twins got two home runs from Eduardo Nunez and a dramatic game-tying blast by Robbie Grossman, why wouldn’t Brian Dozier jump in and hit the most climatic of them all?
After what looked like another near miss inning with Grossman being tossed out at second and Trevor Plouffe grounding out, Dozier jumped over a 3-2 pitch and brought in Joe Mauer for the walkoff blast to give the Minnesota Twins a 6-4 win.
The Miami Marlins (30-28) got the scoring started with a ground out by Giancarlo Stanton.
The Twins (17-40) came back and took the lead on a wild pitch after Nunez tied things up with a leadoff blast into the third deck.
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Miami then took the lead after scoring three more runs off starter Pat Dean who went just 4 1/3 innings.
But once again, the Twins responded with another home run by Nunez in the fifth and then a solo shot by Grossman in the eighth.
The bullpen performed magnificently for the Minnesota Twins as they allowed very little in terms of base runners for the Marlins and kept the Twins in it long enough for Dozier to send the fans at Target Field home happy.
It’s been a tough season not only for the Minnesota Twins but for Brian Dozier from an individual standpoint.
He has shown some flashes of the excitement he brought to the team last season but this was probably his most explosive moment since walking off the Detroit Tigers last summer.
For Dozier and the Twins, it’ll be good to start dancing again. Especially after a game like this.
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OFFENSE . A. 7 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts, 4 home runs. No lack of home run power here, Nunez has been on fire, hitting his third and fourth home runs five games. Nunez got the offense started with a leadoff blast to the third deck in left field. He also brought the Minnesota Twins to within one with his second bomb of the night to left center. <a href=. . Eduardo Nunez
D. Team totals: 4 1/3 innings, 7 hits allowed, 1 walk, 4 earned runs and 2 strikeouts. Dean had made some nice starts for the Minnesota Twins but these past two have been rough. Dean struggled with his control and command and gave up some well-hit balls to the powerful Marlins. After allowing his fourth run in the fifth inning, he exited the game, falling short of a quality start for the second straight outing. With the bullpen being overworked tonight as well as being forced to go into extra innings, hopefully the Twins will get more from their starters through the rest of the homestand.. . Pat Dean. STARTERS
Fernando Abad. RELIEVERS . A. Team totals: 6 2/3 innings, 3 hits allowed, 0 walks, and 10 strikeouts. The bullpen was overworked tonight as Dean exited early after allowing four runs. But the relief core was up to the challenge as they allowed just three hits and no walks or runs. <a href=.
A. Nunez made a couple of solid plays in the field, including an inning-ending play to get <a href=. . Eduardo Nunez. DEFENSE
Next: Molitor Wrong About Nunez
MVT(s): Eduardo Nunez, Brian Dozier, Robbie Grossman, the Bullpen
The Minnesota Twins will face the Marlins Wednesday night at 7:10 P.M. CST. Ricky Nolasco (2-4, 4.93) will pitch against his former team as Miami will send Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.25). The Twins will go for their first series win since sweeping the Seattle Mariners.