His second of the game was a three-run blast in Kansas City’s seven-run ninth inning. He has 25 home runs since the All-Star break.
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Unsurprisingly, Dozier is sporting some impressive numbers from the dish on the season, slashing.278/.349/.580 with a.385 wOBA and.301 ISO through 595 plate appearances.
“I don’t know the last time he had a single was”, Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
“Everything he was throwing was elevated in the zone and his location was off but after the second inning he came in and made an adjustment and got in a groove and did a phenomenal job of getting us through six innings and keeping us right there in the game”, Yost said.
Yost said he thought he might have to get a exhausted bullpen up early when Gee served up long balls to Dozier, Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario in the first two innings.
“I felt like I had really good stuff tonight. We need a guy like him to carry us, and he sure is right now”.
Gardner leapt and collided with the outfield wall with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, but was able to catch a would-be three-run extra-base hit off the bat of Blue Jays slugger Justin Smoak to secure a 7-6 win at Yankee Stadium. “I’d go through another 10 years (in the minors) just to spend another day like this”. “I gotta figure something else out against him”.
Morales hit a two-run shot in the first inning to help the Royals overcome the loss of catcher Salvador Perez, who left the game with a right wrist contusion after he was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning.
Kansas City started the fourth inning with back-to-back hits, the second an RBI single by Morales that scored Eric Hosmer to tie the game. Later in the inning, Merrifield singled to left, driving in Morales to give the Royals the lead.
Butera’s homer leading off the fifth pushed the Royals lead to two runs before the Twinscapitalized on a leadoff double by Buxton in the bottom half of the inning.
First Sano. Then Buxton. Perez had a more extensive X-ray done Wednesday and it confirmed no fracture. He could return to the lineup Friday.
Twins: Plouffe had to leave the game in the middle of an at-bat in the eighth inning with a left oblique strain. Dozier had just 75 career homers over four seasons before 2016, and he’s already hit 52 percent of that total through 134 games.
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ROYALS: After a travel day, Kansas City starts a three-game series on Friday in Chicago. RHP Yordano Ventura (10-9, 4.22 ERA) will take the mound, opposite LHP Carlos Rodon (6-8, 3.90 ERA) of the White Sox. RHP Tyler Duffey pitches for Minnesota against Cleveland RHP Danny Salazar.
