target practice

Seth Smith likes to hit at Target Field in Minnesota. On Thursday, the Ole Miss alum from Jackson belted his fourth home run in 11 career games there, a first-inning blow that gave Seattle a lead on the Twins. Of course, Brian Dozier, the ex-Southern Miss star, likes to hit at Target Field, too. He smacked his 33rd career homer there, a leadoff shot that propelled the Twins to a five-run first inning and a 9-5 victory. Dozier, the All-Star, now has 22 homers for the season (10 at home) for Minnesota, which appears headed for an American League playoff berth that no one predicted in preseason. Seattle, on the other hand, was pegged by many to win the AL West but has had a rough go of it. At 46-57, the Mariners are a distant fourth in the division. Smith, in his first season with the M’s, has played well enough: His .263 average is right at his career mark, and he’s got nine homers and 28 RBIs in 270 at-bats. Wonder if he is on the trading block? … On a small ball note: Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, swiped two more bases on Thursday, running his season total to 49, 16 more than the next best in baseball. He also scored three times in Cincinnati’s 15-5 win against Pittsburgh, but his runs total of 47 ranks just 68th in MLB.