The Minnesota Twins scuffled their way to an inspirational 10-inning, 11-7 victory on Sunday capped off Brian Dozier‘s walk-off grand slam home run. The team heads into the All-Star break on the heels of a nine-win homestand, albeit with two blow-out losses. The only other nine-win homestand for the Twins this millennium was in 2006. In that season’s final homestand prior to the All-Star break, they consecutively swept the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Beyond the finale’s fantastic finish, was an overall exceptional game in several ways. It featured a relief pitcher as a starter; a closer “saving” the game in the 5th inning; a run-scoring balk; a pair of bench-clearing disagreements with an ejection; and a game-tieing bases-loaded walk.