Twins prevail on Dozier's walk-off homer in 11th
MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Dozier's walk-off homer in the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Dozier connected off right-hander Dustin McGowan (0-2) with two out in the 11th to complete the Twins rally.
Minnesota (17-40) got a pair of homers from leadoff hitter Eduardo Nunez and another from Robbie Grossman. Left-handed starter Pat Dean allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings for the Twins, who are 3-5 in interleague play. Buddy Boshers (1-0) pitched the 11th to earn his first major league victory.
The Marlins (30-28) lost for the third time in four games despite the efforts of starter Adam Conley, who struck out eight Twins and threw 100 pitches in 6 2/3 innings. It was the fourth time in his last six starts that Conley has pitched into the sixth inning or deeper.
Miami led 4-3 when Nunez sent a David Phelps pitch to the warning track for the first out of the eighth. The next batter, Grossman, put a Phelps pitch over the right field wall to tie the game.
The Marlins got the game's leadoff hitter aboard, and around, when Ichiro Suzuki started with a single to right, and came in to score via a walk, a fielder's choice and an RBI fielders' choice by Giancarlo Stanton. But Minnesota answered quickly, when Nunez popped Conley's second pitch of the game into the third deck in left-center. Grossman followed with a double and came in to score three batters later on a wild pitch, giving the Twins an early 2-1 lead.
Suzuki's second at-bat was a slow groundout to second, but tied the game at 2-2, bringing in Adeiny Hechavarria from third after the Marlins shortstop had led off with a triple to the wall in left-center.
Miami took the lead again in the fourth, when a two-out single to left by Derek Dietrich scored Marcell Ozuna, giving the Marlins a 3-2 advantage. After Martin Prado doubled with one out in the fifth and came in to score on a Christian Yelich single to make it 4-2, that was all for Dean, who was replaced by righty Michael Tonkin.
Again Nunez answered for the Twins, knocking one over the center-field fence to make it 4-3 after Conley had struck out the first two batters he faced in the fifth. It was the first career multi-homer game for Nunez.
NOTES: Twins GM Terry Ryan said injured LHP Glen Perkins threw the ball well in a practice session and he will throw again Friday. Perkins, the team's regular closer, has been on the 60-day disabled list since May 25. ... Tuesday's game was Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton's first visit to Target Field since the 2014 All-Star Game. In the Home Run Derby, Stanton is remembered for hitting six homers in the first round, including a shot that landed halfway from the top of the stadium's third deck in left center. It was officially estimated at 430 feet. ... Tuesday was the 39th anniversary of Twins manager Paul Molitor being selected third overall in the 1977 MLB draft out of the University of Minnesota by the Milwaukee Brewers. Molitor made his big league debut early in the 1978 season. ... Wednesday's second game of the series will feature Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco (2-4, 4.93 ERA) against Marlins LHP Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.25).