Brian Dozier caps Twins seven-run ninth inning with walk-off home run
The Minnesota Twins rallied.
The Detroit Tigers bullpen imploded.
Both were true on Friday night, and the result was one of the most thrilling comebacks we’ve seen in baseball in quite some time.
Entering the ninth trailing by five, Minnesota rallied for seven runs before Tigers relievers Bruce Rondon and Joakim Soria could record the 26th and 27th. Brian Dozier capped the rally with a three-run walk-off home run, which sent Target Field into a frenzy.
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Talk about motivation too, Dozier’s home run came just hours after learning he’d lost the AL Final Vote to Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals. Dozier definitely belongs. Perhaps not at Moustakas’ expense, but his 19 home runs at the most among all MLB second baseman.
In fact, Dozier’s walk-off homer was actually his second of the week. He also victimized the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, delivering a two-run homer in the 10th. He’s been a difference maker for this surprisingly successful Twins team all season, and his impact was only reaffirmed on Friday.
To pull off such a massive comeback takes more than one player though. After Tigers starter Justin Verlander silenced them for seven innings, Minnesota’s offense finally came to life in the eighth, scratching out a single run on three hits. Dozier had the biggest, an RBI single with two outs. It didn’t seem like much, but that started the ball rolling on their comeback and made what happened in the ninth slightly easier.
Here’s how the inning played out.
And here’s the scene at Target Field.
As excited as fans were in Minnesota, it was the opposite feelings for Tigers fans. They were served another gut punch from their destructive bullpen, and that feeling is sure to linger.
For two years the bullpen has been Detroit’s glaring weakness, and for two years general manager Dave Dombrowski has been unable to orchestrate a fix. The signings of Joe Nathan (injured) and Joba Chamberlain (released on Friday) backfired, and aside from Soria they’ve received little consistency from anyone else.
There’s no doubt second-year manager Brad Ausmus has also struggled managing his bullpen, but the pieces simply haven’t been in place. If nothing else, this loss should be what motivates an aggressive search for help. Without changes, the Tigers are looking at further frustration and bigger hill to climb in the AL Central.
With this loss, the Tigers now trail Kansas City by 7 1/2 games in the division. They’re 2 1/2 behind Minnesota and the Los Angeles Angels in the AL wild card. The margin for error is definitely shrinking and it’s shrinking quickly.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
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