Brian Dozier hit his 12th home run this month off of the first pitch Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin threw Tuesday night, tying a record set by Harmon Killebrew, who did it six times, but the Minnesota Twins also lost their 12th consecutive game, 5-4.
“It’s all about wins. No matter how many homers you hit in a month, you look up and there’s 12 straight losses,” Dozier told the Star Tribune. “I’ll trade those [homers] for 12 wins, any time.”
Handed a 4-1 lead going into the 2nd inning, however, Twins starter Andrew Albers coughed up three runs to allow Cleveland to tie the game and was subsequently removed from the game.
“Obviously, everyone is trying to be the guy, right?” Albers told the Pioneer Press when asked about being the guy to stop the losing streak. “Unfortunately it’s just not happening. It really hurts when you give a lead right back. We have to find a way to snap out of it.”
Alex Wimmers, a 2010 first-round pick out of Ohio State, pitched in his home state for the first time in his major league career, but didn’t fare much better. He gave up the game-deciding run in the fourth inning.
The Twins pitching corps, which also included Pat Light and Taylor Rogers, gave up eight walks total on the night.
“Too many walks,” Dozier told the Associated Press. “You can’t give stuff away, especially against a good team. This is the big leagues. You can’t give away stuff like that.”
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Associated Press]
