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Edouard Julien powers Twins past Dodgers in series finale

dane mizutani, pioneer press
·2 min read

Edouard Julien is slumping no more.

After struggling through a rough stretch to start this season, Julien snapped out of it in a big way on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field, almost singlehandedly powering the Twins to a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished 3 for 4 in the game with a pair of solo home runs. He also scored a run on a base knock by Byron Buxton.

The production from Julien started right off the bat as he squared up a fastball from Bobby Miller for a leadoff home run. That helped the Twins tie the score after they fell behind the Dodgers in the top of the first inning at Target Field.

The next time he stepped to the plate in the third inning, Julien pulled the ball for a single, advanced into scoring position on a hit by Carlos Correa, then came around to score on a hit by Buxton. That sequence helped the Twins snap an 0 for 33 drought with runners in scoring position.

After the Dodgers got a solo home run from Max Muncy in the fourth inning to tie the game, Julien came through for the Twins once again, this time against lefty reliever Alex Vesia. The handedness was important considering Julien rarely gets a chance to face lefties given his splits. He took advantage of this opportunity with another solo home run in the fifth inning to push the Twins in front for good.

It looked like the Dodgers might pull even in the seventh inning when Freddie Freeman roped a line drive into the right field corner. That sent Shohei Ohtani racing around the base paths for what looked like the tying run. Even as Correa field the cutoff throw from Alex Kirilloff it seemed like Ohtani was bound to score with relative ease.

Then came a perfect 92 mph relay throw from Correa to Christian Vasquez to nail Ohtani out at home plate. That proved to be a pivotal play for the Twins, with Kody Funderburk getting the win, and Steven Okert getting the save.

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