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Derek Shelton Touts Twins' New Look Bullpen In Win Over Kansas City Royals
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- Derek Shelton Touts Twins' New Look Bullpen In Win Over Kansas City Royals
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Minnesota Twins entered Thursday's matchup with the odds stacked against them with the AL Central rival Kansas City Royals securing the series win on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.
Nonetheless, the Twins' freshly renovated bullpen came through when it mattered most for the team to avoid suffering a three-game sweep.
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Left-hander Kody Funderburk would be credited with the win to go 3-1 on the season as he surrendered a single hit while striking out one batter. Meanwhile, right-hander Yoendrys Gómez earned the save as he didn't give up any earned runs and held Kansas City 's bats hitless to close it off in the ninth inning.
Following the matchup, manager Derek Shelton praised the duo for their resilience while noting the significant improvements made to the bullpen as a whole around the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.
"It's huge," Shelton said, according to MLB.com. "I think the one thing that we talked about at the deadline was being able to lengthen out our bullpen. I think tonight you saw a really good version of that. Fundy comes in a deficit game and does a nice job. Then Mo comes in, and Gomez. … We've talked about adding Minter, adding Nance, adding Hoffy, it lengthens it out so we could do that."
The 48-68 Royals would not make it easy for Minnesota as right-hander Michael Wacha surrendered three hits and just one earned run through 5.2 innings of work.
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As a result, Kansas City jumped ahead 2-0 in the third inning as Carter Jensen and Bobby Witt Jr. each singled off Minnesota starter Bailey Ober and were eventually brought home on an RBI single by Jac Caglianone .
Royce Lewis had other plans, crushing a 93-mph sinker to left field for a solo homer and putting the Twins within one of their divisional opponent in the fifth. Even then, the Royals answered back in the sixth as franchise home run leader Salvador Perez drove in Witt Jr. with an RBI single, extending the lead to 3-1.
The Twins' offense refused to give in, erupting for three runs in the eighth and taking the lead when Luke Keaschall came in to score off an RBI single by Josh Bell while Brooks Lee hit an RBI single of his own, driving in Alex Jackson and Ryan Jeffers .
In addition to Shelton, the bullpen would also receive kudos from one of their own in Gómez who emphasized the team's all-in mindset.
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"It's very important and good to see the new additions to the bullpen," Gómez said. "Good arms, high-leverage arms and it's all in the name of helping the team win games. It's always a good thing."
With the win, the 26-year-old right-hander has compiled a 3.35 ERA and 1.33 WHIP while also striking out 48 batters in 51 innings pitched. He has also recorded his 15th save of the season.
Besides Gómez, the Twins will also look forward to seeing some excellent outings from newly acquired relievers Jeff Hoffman and A.J. Minter .
Now, the team will have their sights set on a potential upset over the Milwaukee Brewers who have held the best record in MLB this season of 72-43 overall.
