Dozier Goes Deep, Perkins Closes Ninth As The American League All-Stars Win

The 2015 MLB All-Star Game kicked off this evening at 7:00 E.T. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Twins were represented well by their power-hitting second baseman Brian Dozier (.256/. 328/. 513) and their clutch closer Glen Perkins (zero blown saves with a 1.29 ERA).

Brian Dozier was selected as a reserve after the Blue Jay’s Jose Bautista injured his wrist, while Glen Perkins was selected as a relief pitcher for the American League team. The Twins headed into the All-Star break nine games above .500 with a first place lead in the A.L Wild Card. The winning team will earn home field advantage for their league in the World Series this year, giving the Twins an incentive for the A.L to come out on top.

Image courtesy of Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Twins Video

Before the game, various greats from each team were honored in a segment known as the Franchise Four Campaign. The Twins’ Franchise Four included: Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killibrew, Tony Oliva,and Rod Carew. A highlight reel of the former players’ heroics was shown across the screen in less than ten seconds as the video moved on to the next featured team.

A Twins fan watching the All-Star Game simply for coverage of their beloved team would now have to wait until the eighth inning for any mention of the words Minnesota and baseball in the same sentence.

Mike Trout got the American League on the board in the first inning with a leadoff home run off National League starting pitcher Zach Greinke. Trout’s home run would be the only scoring until the bottom of the second when Jhonny Peralta of the Cardinals came up with a two-out bloop single to drive in Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. In the top of the fifth, Trout wreaked havoc again, this time scoring on a Prince Fielder two-out single. The A.L. tacked on another run before the inning ended after Lorenzo Cain of Kansas City doubled home Fielder. An Andrew McCutchen home run brought the N.L deficit to one. The A.L. made it a 5-2 lead in the following inning after the Orioles Manny Machado and Boston’s Brock Holt came around to score.

At last the eighth inning arrived and in came Brian Dozier. In his first at-bat the second baseman sent the ball over the fence in deep center and proved that he belonged on the team. The American League then led the game 6-2. Dozier became the 16^th player in MLB history to hit a homer in his first All-Star Game at-bat.

Glen Perkins came on in the ninth inning in a non-save situation. Perkins gave up a leadoff triple to the Brewers Ryan Braun. Braun then scored on a sacrifice fly, but Perkins regained his composure to close out the inning, ending the game 6-3 in favor of the American League.

The American League took the game and gained home field advantage in the World Series for their representative team. The Twins contributed with a home run from Dozier and an inning pitched from Perkins. If Minnesota stays with their winning ways, the team may be able to utilize that home field advantage come October.