Minnesota Twins Score Seven In Ninth, Dozier Goes Yard To Walk-Off
Jul 6, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) points to the dugout after his walk off home run in the tenth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Target Field. The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
On Friday, I wrote a lot about Brian Dozier before 10:30 p.m. Between poems and memes trying to get him into the All-Star Game and the sad news that he still finished second in the Final Vote, but that wasn’t enough for Brian Dozier.
Nope.
Dozier just had to hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Minnesota Twins a walk-off win after scoring seven runs in the final frame. He just had to.
The inning can barely be put into words. The Twins needed the bottom of the order to come through and that’s exactly what they did. Aaron Hicks and Danny Santana both had to step up to the plate which worried some on Twitter, but it did not worry the players themselves as Santana hit a crucial liner right back up the middle.
The amazing ending to the game helps the Twins forget about the forgettable performance from Ervin Santana. Santana gave up three home runs in his four inning outing giving up a total of six runs. The story was the complete opposite for the Detroit Tigers’ starter.
Justin Verlander went 7.2 innings and only gave up one run while striking out six. It looked like the dominant Verlander of a couple years ago on the mound in Minneapolis on Friday night, but the Tigers’ bullpen once again imploded.
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Bruce Rondon could only get two outs and gave up three runs, before handing it over to closer Joakim Soria who gave up four runs without registering a single out. It is Soria’s third blown save of the year.
This was the second walk-off homer of the week for Brian Dozier and the second of his career. While Dozier has said the right things about not being selected to the All-Star Game, the walk-offs came on the night where he wasn’t named to the All-Star Game main roster and the night when he did not win the Final Vote.
As I tweeted out after the game, half-jokingly, but half-serious as well: who needs the All-Star Game when you might just win the American League MVP at the end of the season.
Twins win 8-6.
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