In the span of a week, Hunter Dozier went from the injured list to the delivery room to the star role in the Kansas City Royals’ 6-1 win over the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
The young slugger hit a three-run shot during a five-run third inning Sunday, made a couple of stellar defensive plays at third base and gave Homer Bailey and the Kansas City bullpen all the offense they needed against the Twins on a soggy, overcast afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Dozier returned to the team on Friday after spending the previous night in the hospital, where his wife gave birth to the couple’s second child.
Bailey (7-6) only made one significant mistake, leaving a pitch over the plate that Eddie Rosario steered inside the right-field foul pole. Otherwise, the revitalized right-hander followed back-to-back scoreless starts against Detroit and Seattle by giving up five hits and a walk.
The Twins’ Jorge Polanco extended his 36-game on-base streak with a single in the seventh. That is tied for fifth-longest in club history. Luis Arraez had his first four-hit game for Minnesota.
