Minneapolis, MN – Ryan Doumit singled home the winning run in the seventh inning as the Minnesota Twins took a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros in the second of a three-game set.
Brian Dozier went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Clete Thomas scored twice for the Twins, who have taken the first two of this series after losing four straight.
Kyle Gibson lasted just three innings in the start as he was touched for four runs on nine hits. Anthony Swarzak worked three hitless frames while Brian Duensing (4-1) pitched a scoreless seventh to get the win.
Brett Wallace hit a solo home run for the Astros, who have lost eight of their last 10.
"It's very frustrating, but at the same time it's one of those things where no one is going to feel sorry for you," said Houston manager Bo Porter. "It is what it is, it's every man to himself, looking himself in the mirror and saying 'I need to do a better job.'"
Erik Bedard pitched six innings in the start and gave up three runs on six hits. Lucas Harrell (5-12) was charged with the loss for allowing three runs in the seventh inning.
Trailing by a run in the seventh, Thomas doubled off of Harrell to start the frame and moved to third on Doug Bernier's sac bunt. Dozier then tied the game with a double and later scored the go-ahead run on Doumit's single. A bases- loaded walk by Oswaldo Arcia later in the frame made it a 6-4 game.
Casey Fien pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, while Glen Perkins did the same in the ninth for his 26th save of the season.
Jose Altuve's ground-rule double in the first gave the Astros a 1-0 lead, but Dozier led off the home first with a triple and scored on Joe Mauer's groundout.
Bernier singled home a run in the second, and Thomas later scored from third when Bernier was caught in a rundown for a 3-1 lead.
Wallace homered to left-center with two outs in the third and Matt Dominguez followed with a double. Robbie Grossman tied the game with a single, and gave the Astros a 4-3 lead later in the frame off a L.J. Hoes single.
Game Notes
Dozier has a career-high 10-game hitting streak ... This is the first series between these two teams since 2009, when Houston took two of three in Minnesota ... Houston left eight men on base while Minnesota stranded seven.
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