Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Dozier just keeps hitting homers

In my last post, I wrote about the Twins and their losing ways and one major positive: Hitting home runs. Those trends - losing ball games and hitting homers - have continued, with the main man of the hour being Brian Dozier.

First let's get this out of the way. The Twins nearly left a huge mark in franchise history, with a 13-game losing streak. It's just one shy of the franchise record 14 games, done by that 1982 Twins team. So, the Twins returned home last week to take on the AL Central-foe White Sox for a four-game set. The Twins snapped their losing streak and almost came away with a series victory.

#DozierGoesDeep x 3
Back to Dozier. In short, his bat has been absolutely on fire. He hit home runs No. 36, 37 and 38, the first two coming in his first two at-bats, versus the Royals on Labor Day. The first one came on the first pitch he saw in the 1st, for his 17th career leadoff home run. He's chasing Jacque Jones for that crown in Twins history; Jones hit 20. The second homer of the day went to the second deck, 446 feet, with Byron Buxton on base for a 3-2 Twins lead at the time.

That was crazy enough, right? Not quite. After coming up a couple times and not hitting a home run, he belted one even further in the 8th inning. That made three on the day for him. He improved on distance each time: Hitting them to the first, second and third decks in that left field/left-center sweet spot. It made 10 homers versus the Royals for him this season; no player has ever hit more against KC in a single season.


His last one came with nobody on base in a game that was already well in hand for the Royals, who led (and eventually won) 11-5. Dozier didn't look exactly thrilled as he turned the bases. No matter the score, Target Field fans were loving the Dozier show. So, their continued cheers got Dozier out of the dugout for a half-hearted curtain call. It was the second one in two days for the Twins; Buxton also got a much happier call after his grand slam Sunday.


Before I could get this blog posted (most of which I wrote after the first game with Kansas City), Dozier hit his 39th homer of the season to start the game off Tuesday, for his 18th career leadoff home run. This one was significant because he became the third Twins player to ever hit a homer in five straight games. Harmon Killebrew did it three times (of course he did). The other player? Marty Cordova in 1995. That's right.

Once again, Dozier's deep efforts were all for nothing, as the Twins lost 10-3 to the Royals for their 17th loss in the past 19 games. It wasn't a typical blowout like the score would suggest though. Closer Brandon Kintzler took the loss after he couldn't hold a 3-2 Twins lead in the 8th and 9th. The Twins paraded their 'pen out there and the Royals put up seven in the 9th.

A grand total of 22 Dozier home runs this season have come in games the team has lost. It's a stat that leads baseball. Coming into play Tuesday, no other player had more than 15 homers in this exciting category.


It's historic, even in a lost season for the team
Dozier's postgame comments after Monday's game weren't typically what you'd hear from a guy that just had a three-homer game - something no Twins player has ever done at home. It's understandable Dozier would be frustrated though. His team isn't winning these games where he keeps homering.

Whether he wants the acknowledgment or not, Dozier's latest tear should be celebrated. He's homered seven times in his last eight games. So really, once Dozier steps into the batter's box, be prepared for him to hit a home run, because it's been happening a lot.

He's ripping up the stats sheets with his home run barrage. Plus, he's found himself mentioned with one of the greatest Twins hitters to ever swing a bat: Killebrew. The Killer was the last Twins player to crush more than 35 home runs in a season; he did it eight times, the last in 1970 when he hit 41.


Basically, he's been a lot of fun to watch. I mean, how often do you watch a player come up to the plate and you think he'll homer every single time? That's pretty rare, obviously, but it's what Dozier has been doing. His 24 home runs since the All-Star Break lead all of baseball, and it's not a close contest.

Other Twins hitting 'em out of the park, too 
Dozier is hitting out of his mind right now, but he isn't the only one hitting the ball out of the yard lately. Entering play Tuesday, the team had homered in seven straight games. They haven't gone eight games since 2013.

In the White Sox series, the Twins hit four home runs in Saturday's game, then another four Sunday. It was Dozier, Buxton, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe. Then Buxton and Dozier again, John Ryan Murphy and another from Sano. Oh, and Buxton's grand slam Sunday was the first of his career and second of the Twins' season. At that point, Buxton homered in three of the four games since he was recalled from AAA Rochester at the start of the series.

It's been nice to have the home run excitement to focus on recently, especially since the Twins lost Sunday's game 13-11 in 12 innings (a game where both closers faltered and the bullpens weren't exactly stellar). The Twins also got shelled 11-4 to the Royals, when Dozier had his duo blasts.

Of course, this comes back to pitching. It doesn't how many runs a team puts on the board. They have to be able to stop the other team from doing that, too. Expert analysis right there, I know. But pitching is really a whole other can of messy worms that I won't get into right now.

Let's just enjoy the Dozier home runs. #DozierGoesDeep

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