Twins victory over the Rays
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brian Dozier’s tiebreaking two-run home run for Minnesota with two outs in the eighth inning followed a pitching change by Tampa Bay and spurred the Twins to a 5-3 victory Saturday afternoon over the Rays.
The Twins were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position until Dozier stepped in against Tommy Hunter with a man on third. The 426-foot drive, Dozier’s seventh of the season, bounced off the ribbon videoboard between the upper and lower deck in right-center field.
Rays manager Kevin Cash swapped right-handed relievers, removing Danny Farquhar (2-2) so Hunter could face Dozier. The decision backfired, ending Farquhar’s streak of 16 consecutive scoreless appearances.
Dozier then made a diving stop on Rickie Weeks’ sharp grounder to second in the ninth inning to support Brandon Kintzler’s 13th save in 14 tries, despite a two-out home run by Colby Rasmus.
Eddie Rosario also homered for the Twins, who embarked Friday on a stretch of 45 games in 45 days. They needed rookie Adalberto Mejia to stick around and save some relievers.
Mejia wasn’t as effective as last weekend during the doubleheader against Kansas City when he earned his first career victory, but he struck out six batters and finished five innings with the game tied. Tyler Duffey pitched two scoreless innings and Taylor Rogers (2-1) followed with a perfect eighth inning for the win.