The Los Angeles Dodgers received solo home runs from Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig, but it was a Justin Turner RBI single in the bottom of the ninth that lifted them to a 6-5 walk-off win and sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
The comeback win was the Dodgers’ 29th this season and their eighth walk-off. Prior to the jubilation came frustration and sloppy play that allowed the Twins to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Dodgers’ errors placed further stress on a game in which their starter, Brock Stewart, was on a pitch count.
Stewart appeared in his seventh game for the team this season, but made his first start. Manager Dave Roberts expected the right-hander to throw 45-55 pitches; Stewart’s season high entering the night was 52 pitches, thrown over 3.1 innings in a start with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Two scoreless innings were offset by a three-run third and two-run fourth on separate two-out rallies. By the time the dust settled, the official scorer deemed each of the runs unearned.
Ervin Santana’s sacrifice bunt attempt left runners on first and second base with one out, because of Yasmani Grandal’s throwing error on his attempt to get the lead runner. Zach Granite’s two-out RBI double broke a scoreless tie.
Joe Mauer added a two-run single before Stewart could get out of the third. Good fortune was on Santana’s side again in the fourth, as a Logan Forsythe error left two on with two outs. Ross Stripling replaced Stewart and promptly allowed a two-run double to Brian Dozier.
Stripling finished his appearance by retiring the next seven batters faced. Brandon Morrow set the Twins down in order in the seventh. Aside from home runs hit by Pederson and Puig, in the fourth and fifth innings, the Dodgers never posed much of a threat.
The Dodgers began to mount a come back in seventh, sparked by Forsythe and Grandal connecting on back-to-back singles that put runners at the corners with one out. Santana nearly worked his way out of the small jam as he struck out Puig, but pinch-hitter Chase Utley hit a two-run double.
Matt Belisle walked Chris Taylor to keep the inning alive, though Taylor Rogers entered and needed just one pitch to retire Corey Seager for the third out. With one out and Justin Turner on first base, Kiké Hernandez singled on a hit-and-run sequence.
Forsythe lifted a fly ball to shallow center field that resulted in a sacrifice fly to tie the game, only because Granite threw to first base, where a Twins player was not positioned.
Kenley Jansen worked around a leadoff double in the ninth inning, getting back-to-back strikeouts after the go-ahead run reached third base. Austin Barnes, the Dodgers’ last remaining position player off the bench, singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Taylor’s infield single moved Barnes into scoring position, and both runners advanced on Seager’s groundout to the right side of the infield. Turner battled back from an 0-2 count to work it full before pulling the game-winning single into left field.
