Overview

The Minnesota Twins took a trip to Kansas City this week for a 3-game series at Kauffman Stadium with the Royals. The Twins, holding a 4-6 record on the season, were coming off of a series with the Red Sox where the two teams split four games. The Royals stumbled into the series, losing five games consecutively before squeezing out a win over the Tigers to push their record to 3-5. 

The Royals won the series 2-1. While they couldn’t complete the sweep, it has to be refreshing to see the team back in the win column a few times, and a game under .500. The Royals move to 5-6 on the season, and the Twins now hold a record of 5-8.

Game 1 - Salvy Mashes Twice, Leads Royals to 4-3 Win

Starters: Chris Archer (MIN) vs. Carlos Hernandez (KC)

The Royals were the first to tally a hit in the bottom of the 1st with a close-play double from Nicky Lopez, but they weren’t able to bring in the run due to two strikeouts to end the inning, in a fashion that the Royals have already become familiar with. The scoring began in the top of the 4th when Nick Gordon tripled, Gio Urshela singled him home, and Sanchez doubled to bring Urshela in. The Royals quickly got some of the deficit back when Salvador Perez hit a 373 foot homer to left. Both teams scored once in the fifth via a single from Carlos Correa and a bases-loaded walk from Nicky Lopez. The Royals couldn’t strike for any more with the bases loaded, with Bobby Witt, Jr. grounding into a double play leaving the score at 3-2, Twins. In the bottom of the 6th, Perez hit his second homer and Hunter Dozier hit one out as well to give the Royals their first lead of the game. This lead would prove to hold up with the help of stellar relief pitching, giving the Royals a 4-3 win. 

Each starting pitcher went 4.1 innings. Chris Archer gave up 4 hits and 2 runs while ringing up 5 strikeouts and 3 walks, while Carlos Hernandez surrendered 8 hits, 3 runs and a walk. The Twins utilized three arms out of their bullpen, including Tyler Duffey who gave up 2 runs and recorded the loss. Amir Garrett was among the five relievers to pitch for the Royals, and he threw 1.2 innings without giving up a hit to get the win. Josh Staumont eventually slammed the door after a rocky first few batters to record his second save on the season. 

Final: Royals 4-3 Twins

Most Notable Player: Salvador Perez (2-3, 2 HR, BB)

Game 2 - Royals Bullpen Shuts Down Twins in 2-0 Win

Starters: Chris Paddack (MIN) vs. Daniel Lynch (KC)

The Royals got off to a fast start in the second game of the series, scoring a run off of a Whit Merrifield leadoff double to left. The game quieted virtually completely until another score from the Royals in the bottom of the 5th. Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Dozier singled, and Adalberto Mondesi brought Benintendi home with a bunt single. More great relief pitching along with a pretty strong start from Daniel Lynch allowed the Twins only five hits total, and they failed to advance a single runner past first base. 

Daniel Lynch logged a solid 5.0 innings in which he allowed only four hits and a walk, and picked up the win. Chris Paddack was charged with the loss after pitching 5.0 innings and allowing two earned runs on 5 hits. Scott Barlow was among the four relief arms that were used by the Royals tonight and gave up the only hit from the bullpen, but recorded his first save of the year. 

Final: Royals 2-0 Twins

Most Notable Player: Royals Bullpen (4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K)

Game 3 - Royals Fall to Twins in Defensive Showdown

Starters: Joe Ryan (MIN) vs. Zach Greinke (KC)

What little offense that was already shown in this series ran out virtually completely for both teams. The Twins’ Miguel Sano sac-flied home the game’s only run after a Gio Urshela walk and a single from Max Kepler. The Royals’ only real base traffic came in the bottom of the 4th when Andrew Benintendi tripled to deep right, but was caught trying to take home on a Salvador Perez fly out by a terrific throw from Nick Gordon. Even after Joe Ryan’s exit, the Royals couldn’t muster much besides a Bobby Witt, Jr. double. 

Joe Ryan had a tremendous outing, pitching 6.0 innings while giving up only two hits and a walk, earning him the win. Royals ace Zach Greinke recorded 5.0 innings and gave up 6 hits and one run in his first loss on the season. Three Twins relievers picked up where Ryan left off, and threw three innings and amassed one hit allowed, including Emilio Pagan, who picked up his first save of the year. The Royals’ bullpen continued their stellar play with 4.0 combined innings pitched, two total hits, and no runs. 

Final: Twins 1-0 Royals

Most Notable Player: Nick Gordon (2-3, lead-saving throw)

Takeaways

The obvious most notable takeaway from this series has to be the Royals’ bullpen. The group has now logged 21.2 total innings without allowing a run, dating back to the first game of the Tigers series. In the words of the legendary music group Poison, every rose has its thorn. That thorn lies in the Royals’ offensive production, or lack thereof. The team ranks 29th in runs scored, 29th in hits, and dead last in walks drawn. This problem was clear in Thursday’s game when the Royals put up three total hits and no runs. It can be easy to claim that the bats haven’t gotten going yet and the season is still young, but some tinkering at the very least should be done to the everyday lineup before more games drop in the loss column. The lone exceptions have been Nicky Lopez and Andrew Benintendi, both sporting impressive batting averages. Most notably, however, Bobby Witt, Jr. is currently batting .128, leaving many skeptical fans wondering when the bat of the league’s #1 prospect will heat up. Nevertheless, all series wins are good series wins, and the Royals showed lots of promise while improving their record.

Looking Ahead

After two series at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals will hit the road first to Seattle and then to Chicago to face the White Sox. Brad Keller gets the start tomorrow and will hope to keep up the great start to his season. The Royals will also get a chance to face reigning Cy Young Award winner and Mariners’ ace Robbie Ray on Sunday.