Twins 4, Astros 3 (13)
MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Dozier's RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning ended a 4-1/2 hour game and gave the Minnesota Twins a 4-3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night at Target Field.
Astros reliever Dallas Keuchal walked Clete Thomas in the bottom of the 13th and Kevin Correia bunted him to second. With two outs, Dozier singled to right, scoring Thomas from second.
A game that started slowly with little hitting and few runs turned into a marathon. But the Twins kept battling back.
Minnesota was trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning when Dozier led off with a double to left. Joe Mauer moved Dozier to third with a groundout. Justin Mourneau followed with his second hit in a row, a single to right that scored Dozier with the tying run.
After the Astros went ahead in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Matt Dominguez, the Twins came back again. Astros reliever Josh Fields walked Chris Colabello and then Clete Thomas moved pinch-runner Doug Bernier to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Chris Herrmann pinch hit for Pedro Florimon and a wild pitch moved the tying run to third. Herrmann walked and Dozier came through with a bloop single to center to send the game to extra innings.
Astros starter Jarred Cosart gave up five hits in seven innings, allowing one run and one walk. He struck out four and never let the Twins get untracked early.
Twins starter Sam Deduno, who had won his previous three starts, began strong but ran into some control trouble. Deduno threw 104 pitches in six innings, giving up two runs and four hits with five strikeouts. But it was the five walks that got him in trouble.
Deduno got intp some difficulty in the third inning, giving up a single to Dominguez and a double to Brandon Barnes. He struck out the next two batters on called third strikes before walking Jake Elmore to load the bases. Deduno then struck out DH Jason Castro looking to get out of the jam.
In the bottom of the third, Thomas got to first on a bloop single just out of reach of Cosart. Florimon moved him to third on a hit-and-run single to right. Mauer hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Thomas for the first run of the game.
In the fifth, Deduno pitched into another jam, walking the bases loaded with two outs. This time, however, Castro hit a grounder past the mound into center, scoring two runs and giving the Astros a 2-1 lead.
NOTES: OF Oswaldo Arcia was recalled for the game and inserted into the Twins starting lineup in left field. ... Twins outfielders have 30 assists this season, the most in the major leagues, and seven different outfielders have contributed. ... The Astros have the youngest roster in baseball with an average age of 25.6. ... Friday's game marked the fourth visit overall by the Astros to Minnesota and their first since winning two of three games in a 2009 series. Twins closer Glen Perkins was the starter in the last game between the two teams.
