Major League Baseball: Twins 8, Royals 5
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) If this is Brian Doziers last month with the Minnesota Twins, its off to a strong start.
Whether he is helping boost the Twins back into the division race or merely increasing his trade value, Dozier has found his form at the plate.
Dozier hit a two-run homer, going deep for the second straight game to help the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 on Wednesday.
About stats, talk to me in October. If theyre not there, then well talk, Dozier said. I keep telling these guys, Eight games: Thats not that much.
Lance Lynn (7-7) recovered from a three-run homer by Salvador Perez in the first inning to win his second straight start for the Twins, who used the bottom third of their lineup to launch rallies in the second and the fourth against Burch Smith (0-1).
Max Kepler, Jake Cave and Bobby Wilson went 6 for 11 with five runs scored. Wilson, whose batting average fell to .114 last week, had two RBIs and was one of three Twins with three hits, joining Dozier and Joe Mauer. Wilson, the backup catcher, is now hitting .169.
Dozier drove in a run with an infield single in the fourth. Then he sent his 15th homer of the season into the second deck above left field in the sixth inning against Enny Romero. Logan Morrison hit a solo shot one out later to pad the lead for Minnesota, which improved 6-1 on an 11-game homestand.
With the Twins trailing AL Central-leading Cleveland by 8 1/2 games when the day began, Dozier is among several prominent players on expiring contracts whose names are part of the annual July trade market speculation. Lynn is one of those, too.
We dont pay attention to it, so whatever happens happens, said Lynn, who pitched to two batters in the sixth. In this game Ive learned that you go where you told, because they pay you. Thats just the way it works, unless youve got a no-trade clause.
Only first baseman Joe Mauer has that.
So everyone else can just wear it and do what theyre told, Lynn said.
Mike Moustakas homered twice for the Royals, who took the Twins deep five times over the last two games of this series despite toting the fewest home runs in MLB. Kansas City has lost 23 of its past 27 games.
Come in here and play hard, Perez said. One of the things everybody should think: Thats how we bring food to the table for our family. Thats our job.
BULL DOZIER
Doziers production at the plate is lower than it has been in at least five years, but he has begun to warm up with a .375 batting average, three homers and eight RBIs over his past six games. Only four of his home runs have come at home this season. He hit 127 homers over the previous four years, with 63 of those at Target Field.
