The Twins could have left Texas with three wins but lost the last two games of their series in extra innings. That includes Sunday night's 4-3, 13-inning punch to the gut.
The Twins did everything right for eight and a half innings before Brian Dozier and Glen Perkins made critical mistakes in the ninth that allowed the Rangers to score three runs to tie the game. The bullpen did fairly well until Texas to Alex Burnett in the 13th.
Dozier mishandled a routine grounder to start the ninth, then compounded the problem by throwing wildly to first base, allowing Ian Kinsler to advance to second. Dozier, who was a stand up guy after the game, was very frustrated with himself. He was able to shake off the error and make a good play later in extra innings.
"It's very tough because of the fact that, looking back, it kind of cost us the ballgame," Dozier said. "At the same time, you have to stay focused and routine plays are supposed to be made all the time."
I can see Dozier getting more days off once the schedule picks back up, but there are no indications that Dozier is in danger of losing his job. Jamey Carroll is doing nothing at the plate right now. And I talked to one scout who said that Pedro Florimon, while a good defensive player at Class AAA Rochester, won't hit in the majors.
Perkins, who also was stand-up after the game, said he didn't have his good slider but still felt he could compete last night. The 0-2 slider to Michael Young was horribly hung. If he gets the ball down, there's a good chance the ball it hit on the ground. Instead, it was a tie game.
"I had everybody down two strikes and didn't finish them off," Perkins said.
What a way to head into the break. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire spoke before the game about what has gone right for the team so far this season, and felt that better starting pitching could put them in position to make a run during the final 77 games.
