KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brian Dozier has been in the Twins’ starting lineup for 113 consecutive games, and he told manager Paul Molitor he wanted to keep playing through the season’s final game. Molitor agreed — then changed his mind.
“Last night kind of pushed me in the other direction,” Molitor said of Dozier’s 0-for-5 night, which dropped him to 1-for-27 (.037) in his last six games. “I went back to him today — I think he’s been pushing so hard for so long, trying to do the right thing by playing, setting an example. I’m hoping just backing him off mentally today will help him get through Chicago” this weekend.
Dozier has started every game since May 25, so wearing down now, particularly under the weight of 102 losses, is understandable. Dozier hasn’t had a two-hit game since Sept. 14, and he’s batting .137 (7-for-51) with one home run in his last 12 games. The second baseman is still chasing the MLB mark for most home runs by a second baseman, and Molitor believes not playing tonight actually gives him a better chance of reaching that mark in Chicago, where Dozier has homered three times already this year.
“When you get tired, you start muscling the ball,” Molitor said. “He’s down to 12 at-bats, roughly. We’ll give up three tonight to try to make the last 12 really good.”
With Dozier out, Eduardo Escobar gets the start at second base, his first time at that position since the final game of the 2015 season. Kyle Gibson gets the start as the Twins try to prevent being swept in all 10 games at Kauffman Stadium this season, and try to avoid setting the franchise record for losses.
Here are tonight’s lineups:
TWINS
Polanco SS
Grossman DH
Sano 3B
Vargas 1B
Kepler RF
E. Escobar 2B
Murphy C
Schafer LF
Buxton CF
Gibson RHP
ROYALS
Dyson CF
Merrifield 2B
Hosmer 1B
Morales DH
Orlando RF
Gordon LF
A. Escobar SS
Cuthbert 3B
Butera C
Duffy LHP
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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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