Twins prevail on Dozier's walk-off homer in 11th

[June 08, 2016]  MINNEAPOLIS -- Getting to 100 career wins would usually be reason for a manager to celebrate, at least a little.

For Minnesota Twins skipper Paul Molitor, in the midst of a tough season, the milestone was more of a relief.

Brian Dozier's walk-off homer in the 11th inning lifted the Twins to a 6-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing streak and giving the second-year manager triple-digit wins.

Dozier connected off right-hander Dustin McGowan (0-2) with two outs in the 11th to complete the Twins' rally from a 4-2 midgame deficit.

"I don't think 100's anything to dance about, especially the way I got there," Molitor said with a faint smile. "I'm tired of reading that note up on the board, to be honest with you. I don't know what I was at to start the year, but it took us a long time to get to what we needed for 100. But we'll keep pushing."

Minnesota (17-40) kept pushing throughout, getting two 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.

Twins reliever Buddy Boshers (1-0) struck out both batters he faced in the 11th to earn his first major league victory.

"You always want to be in those situations. If you don't, something's wrong with you," Dozier said after his third career walk-off homer, his first since July of last season. "Even if you're feeling good or not or whatever it is, you want to try to put yourself in that situation as much as possible."

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 pitched into the sixth inning or deeper.

Conley yielded three runs on five hits and a walk.

"I think the biggest issue again tonight was the last six innings or maybe seven, we don't score," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Early on, we were good, got some runs in, got some big hits. We just weren't able to capitalize after that."

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. Ichiro Suzuki started with a single to right, and he came in to score via a walk, a fielder's choice and an RBI fielders' choice by Giancarlo Stanton.

Minnesota answered quickly, as 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 third-inning at-bat was a slow groundout to second, but it tied the game at 2-2, bringing in Adeiny Hechavarria from third after the Marlins shortstop led off with a triple to the wall in left-center.

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) hits a walk off home run in the eleventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Target Field. The Minnesota Twins defeated the Miami Marlins 6-4 in 11 innings. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

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.

"Try not to get too frustrated, it's just one game. That's how the game goes," said Marlins first baseman Chris Johnson after Minnesota used eight pitchers in the win. "We didn't stretch the lead. We have to stretch the lead, we have to get more runs, add a little bit of a cushion and just keep on them. Their bullpen came in and didn't allow us to do that."

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 out since April 11. ... 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 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).

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