Max Muncy hit two of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ three home runs, but they still needed heroics from Trayce Thomspon for a 9-8 win over the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings. The Dodgers extended their winning streak at Dodger Stadium to 10 games, and they are 2-0 in extra innings this season.
Will Smith opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, which Muncy followed with his first long ball of the night. That gave the Dodgers back-to-back home runs for the fourth time this season, and only three days after Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman combined to do so against the San Diego Padres.
After the Twins cut into their deficit, Muncy went to center field for a two-run home run in the third inning that put the Dodgers ahead 5-1. It was Muncy’s 13th career multi-homer game and fourth this season.
He finished the night 3-for-5, breaking out of a slump that coincided with battling an illness that had a lingering cough. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has kept Muncy in the lineup to still give the team an added threat.
The Dodgers largely went quiet after Muncy’s second home run of the game, and their bullpen ultimately stumbled in another short start for Noah Syndergaard.
Roberts had indicated there wasn’t any concern over how much length Syndergaard would be able to provide six days removed from pitching just one inning because a blister/cut on his right index finger ripped open.
Syndergaard didn’t necessarily appear to be bothered by the blister over his four innings of work. His fastball velocity touched 94 mph in the first inning before curtailing as the start wore on, but the Twins scored just two runs off the right-hander.
Freddie Freeman hit an RBI double in the seventh inning, again narrowly missing the 300th home run of his career.
That initially appeared to be an insurance run but it quickly prevented the Dodgers from trailing when Yency Almonte allowed a game-tying, three-run homer in the eighth inning.
L.A. responded in the bottom half, with Miguel Vargas’ two-out double setting the table for David Peralta to drive in the go-ahead run on his extra-base hit.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the ninth inning as Evan Phillips couldn’t strand a one-out walk.
More Dodgers bullpen trouble ensued in the 10th, when Phil Bickford started the inning with a leadoff walk and failing to get an out on a sacrifice bunt attempt. The Twins took the lead on a four-pitch walk, but Bickford retired the next three batters to hold them to just the one run.
J.D. Martinez made that pay off by tying the game on an RBI single. Thompson entered as a pinch-runner, only to become the second Dodger on the night to get picked off.
After Bickford got through second and third innings without allowing a run, Thompson got redemption with a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 12th.
Dodgers fans boo Correa
Carlos Correa again was subjected to relentless booing and chants of “cheater” throughout his at-bats. Correa has received such treatment each of his times playing at Dodger Stadium since the Houston Astros’ 2017 World Series cheating scandal was uncovered.
Correa had a golden opportunity to silence his detractors when batting with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Caleb Ferguson’s wild pitch allowed a run to score, but he retired Correa to escape the jam.
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