Article: MIN 6, DET 3: Dozier, Escobar Lead Offense To Victory

[Tom Froemming]

The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, but back-to-back homers from Brian Dozier and Eduardo Escobar in the second inning put the Twins on top and they never looked back. Kyle Gibson labored in his final appearance of the regular season, but the bullpen, which included Jose Berrios, was stellar. There was even a Miguel Sano sighting.Snapshot (chart via Fangraphs)

Download attachment: Snapsho929.png

There was a pretty significant portion of the crowd of 34,580 that didn't even get inside the stadium before the Tigers scored their three runs. Gibson gave up a single, an RBI triple and a two-run homer before recording the game's first out. But from there, Detroit added just six more hits.

 

Dozier opened the home half of the first by hitting a double that also provided some comic relief for his teammates. He would have likely had a triple, but Dozier tripped on his way to third and had to scramble back to second, just beating the tag. Escobar followed with a double of his own to score the team's first run.

 

It looked like the Twins might go down quietly in the second inning, as the Tigers retired the first two batters. But Chris Gimenez drew a walk, Ehire Adrianza hit a long double, Dozier blasted a three-run home and Escobar added a round tripper of his own to put the Twins up 5-3. Ed later added an RBI single, giving him three run-scoring hits on the evening.

 

Gibby only lasted 3.2 innings, and it took him 87 pitches to get that far. Ryan Pressly recorded the last out of the fourth inning before Jose Berrios came in to make his first relief appearance of the season. He gave up a pair of hits and struck out a batter over 1.1 innings.

 

Tyler Duffey provided 1.2 innings of scoreless relief before Taylor Rogers (0.2 IP) and Trevor Hildenberger (0.1 IP) combined to cover the eighth and Matt Belisle closed out the game and picked up his ninth save.

Postgame With Molitor

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Download attachment: Bullpen929.png

Looking Ahead

Sat: Twins (Aaron Slegers) vs. Detroit (Buck Farmer), 6:10 pm CT

Sun: Twins (Bartolo Colon) vs. Detroit (Anibal Sanchez), 2:10 pm CT

Mon: OFF

 

Looking Back

CLE 5, MIN 2: Ervin Caps Banner Year With 5 Shutout Innings

CLE 4, MIN 2: Twins Lose, Clinch Postseason Berth Anyway

MIN 8, CLE 6: Twins Use Team Record 10 Pitchers In Victory

 

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[scottz]

This was the first game I attended this year. I sent the team an email back during spring training telling the Twins that if they really loved me, if they respected me at all, they would get into the playoffs, and that I wouldn't go to a game until they proved themselves.

 

Good job, Twins. I love you, too.

[jimmer]

Escobar has been really something this year.

[Rhino and Compass]

The trade that brought in Escobar is one of the better trades for the Twins that doesn't get nearly as much publicity. The Twins have never made a bad trade involving Francisco Liriano

[Longdistancetwins]

 

The trade that brought in Escobar is one of the better trades for the Twins that doesn't get nearly as much publicity. The Twins have never made a bad trade involving Francisco Liriano

My White Sox fan friend (yes, I have one here in NYC) often asks about Escobar, knowing that he's a good guy.

[Circus Boy]

I almost feel sorry for the way we've been mauling the Kitty Cats. But no. We've been on the receiving end for seemingly forever. I hope today is another 12-1 affair.

[jimmer]

The guy I work with, who I sit right next to, is a Tigers fan.  Another reason why this season has been so good :-)