Dodgers outlast Twins in extras to sweep DH
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Scott Van Slyke homered in the 12th inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a doubleheader and three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-3 win at Target Field.
Van Slyke led off the 12th by clobbering a 2-1 pitch from Brian Duensing (0-1) over the wall in left-center field.
Drew Butera added a two-out blast off Duensing, which became critical after Kenley Jansen's rough outing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Twins loaded the bases with no outs against the Los Angeles closer on a bloop single by Jason Kubel and two walks. Joe Mauer plated a run with a sacrifice fly, but Minnesota stranded two men in scoring position as Jansen earned his 11th save.
Chris Colabello lined out to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to end the game.
The Dodgers, who posted a 9-4 win in the opener of this twinbill, drew a whopping 12 walks and collected 11 hits, but finished 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 16.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jamey Wright (2-1) picked up the win after allowing one hit in three scoreless innings.
The Game 2 starters were each summoned from the minors.
Red Patterson's major league debut got off to an inauspicious beginning. The Los Angeles right-hander gave up consecutive singles and issued a one-out walk to load the bases in the first inning, but settled down to limit the damage to one run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A sac fly by Josmil Pinto was the first of 11 straight batters retired by the soon-to-be 27-year-old Patterson, who walked two more before being removed with two outs in the fifth.
Kris Johnson, 29, got the starting assignment for Minnesota and sidestepped several jams to hold the Dodgers scoreless over 4 1/3 innings. He gave up only four hits -- all singles -- and struck out five, but walked six.
Anthony Swarzak relieved Johnson, making his second MLB start, with men on the corners and induced an inning-ending double play by Matt Kemp.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Dodgers tied the game in the sixth when Juan Uribe followed Van Slyke's leadoff triple with a single up the middle. Van Slyke hammered Swarzak's pitch to straightaway center field and Aaron Hicks failed to make a leaping grab as he slammed back-first into the wall.
Los Angeles loaded the bases later in the inning on consecutive two-out walks by Swarzak, but Michael Tonkin foiled the threat by getting Hanley Ramirez to pop out to first baseman Colabello in foul territory.
The Twins then regained the lead in the home sixth after the Dodgers committed errors on back-to-back plays.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gonzalez led off the seventh with a home run to left-center field off Tonkin, who later walked the bases loaded.
The game remained tied, however, thanks to a splendid defensive play by Brian Dozier. The Minnesota second baseman dove to his right and snared a Dee Gordon liner to save at least two runs.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Minnesota suffered its seventh straight loss to an NL opponent ... Mauer, who had three of the Twins' six hits, has hit safely in all 11 career games against the Dodgers ... Minnesota was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base ... The game lasted five hours and 11 minutes.