He was spotted a 2-0 lead in the second inning when his counterpart, Twins right-hander Ervin Santana, struggled with his command.Francisco Rodriguez threw a flawless ninth inning for his 44th save.Santana (7-11) went six innings and surrendered four runs (two earned). This season’s only previous series between the Twins and Mariners, May 27-29 in Seattle, was a three-game sweep by Minnesota, and one of only three series sweeps that the Twins have recorded this season. The Twins lost 9-2 in the opener of a doubleheader. “Guys are playing hard and we’re doing our best to stay right there, and try to climb up in the wild-card standings”.
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In the opener, Anibal Sanchez allowed one run and two hits in five innings in a spot start, and Alex Wilson (4-0), Shane Green and Mark Lowe finished the five-hitter.
Seattle supplied Paxton with the most run support he’s received in a start this season.
“It’s unfortunate for him that he hasn’t been able to celebrate a lot of those home runs with the losses”, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said.
Mets 9, Phillies 8: Jose Reyes hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning and Asbrubal Cabrera hit a three-run drive in an 11th-inning comeback to lift NY to a dramatic victory over Philadelphia that kept it tied for the NL wild-card lead. And you know, as he does, he ran a good route and got back there and gave him a chance to make the catch without the wall hitting the ball out of his glove.
The Twins added a run in the eighth when Byron Buxton scored from first base on Jorge Polanco’s double to right field.
The major league record for home runs in a season by a second baseman is 42, which is shared by Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson.
The Tigers and Twins traded runs in the first in front of a almost empty Target Field crowd. Hard to see where that 18k plus figure came from – wonder if they’ll have enough time to clear the stadium before the evening crowd comes in? After belting a then-career-high 28 big flies in 2015, Dozier had just five heading into play on June 1 and 14 going into the All Star break.
Dozier also extended his hitting streak to 24 games, tied for the third-longest in Twins’ history.
Dozier blasted his 42nd home run of the season Thursday against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field.
Twins: DH/3B Miguel Sano (lower back tightness) was back in the lineup for the first time since September 12.
“He was around the zone for the most part”, Molitor said. May was 2-2 with a 5.27 ERA in 44 relief appearances.
The Twins play host to the Seattle Mariners beginning Friday, while the Tigers will return home to face the Kansas City Royals.
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It’s James Paxton (4-7, 3.88 ERA) vs Kyle Gibson (6-10, 5.10 ERA).
