The Minnesota Twins woke up a sleeping giant in the Dodgers offense Thursday in game one of a day-night doubleheader.
LA had a season high in both runs scored and hits in a 9-4 win.
Yasiel Puig had never seen snow before or the type of cold weather they’re dealing with in Minnesota, but he must like it. He tied a career high with four of the Dodgers 15 hits, collected two RBIs, and stole a base.
“A lot of pitches inside were working for me today, that’s where I was looking for the ball, that’s what I’ve been working on specifically in the batting cages,” Puig told SportsNet LA after the game.
In the first two games of the series he went 6 for 8.
Miguel Olivo gave the team what they haven’t been accustomed to this season - hits from the catcher position. He hit .390 in Triple-A and brought his hot bat to Minnesota. His two RBIs in game one were more than Dodger catchers collected all year.
“Everyone knows I have power. I’ve just made more contact and been more selective at the plate, " Olivio said afterward. "And that’s why I’ve been successful this year,” he added.
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The Dodgers defense got them in trouble again today. In the first inning Jason Kubel hit a routine single to left field to score Joe Mauer, that's when then things got interesting. Carl Crawford lobbed the ball toward third base but Hanley Ramirez had his back turned to the throw and Juan Uribe was nowhere near the bag. The ball was finally stopped by a sliding Olivo near the Dodgers dugout. Olivo, while on his backside, threw to third base to get Trevor Plouffe but the ball ended up in left field. Plouffe scored and the Twins took a 2-0 lead.
Later in the game shortstop Dee Gordon dropped a throw. The Dodgers had three errors total to retake the Major League lead with 29.
Brian Dozier had two hits and two RBIs for the Twins. The struggles for starter Mike Pelfrey (0-3) continued. He took the loss only lasting four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and saw his ERA jump to 7.99.
Dan Haren (4-0) got the win for the Dodgers. He went 6 ⅔ innings, allowed three earned runs on seven hits. Haren's been the benefactor of great run support this year. The Dodgers offense has averaged nearly eight runs in his four wins.
Chris Perez pitched 1 ⅔ innings to pick up his first save.
