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Royals Rally Late to Beat Twins 8-6 Behind Josh Rojas’ Game-Winning Hit
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- Royals Rally Late to Beat Twins 8-6 Behind Josh Rojas’ Game-Winning Hit
(© Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images)
The Royals topped the Minnesota Twins 8-6 Thursday night in a back-and-forth affair at Target Field. Kansas City has now won three of its last four games after winning a series against the Reds in Cincinnati .
Seth Lugo got the ball for Kansas City, throwing five innings and allowing five earned runs on six hits, three of which left the yard.
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Bobby Witt Jr. sparked the offense in the first inning, reaching base on a single and then stealing second, ultimately reaching third on a wild pitch, setting up a scoring opportunity for Salvador Perez . He hit a deep fly ball, easily scoring Witt, who scampered home to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.
Byron Buxton responded in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run. Twins starter Andrew Morris struggled with command early on, allowing multiple runners to advance on wild pitches.
After a great play by Kody Clemens , which saved a run on a would-be Bobby Witt Jr. single, Morris lost control of a curveball to the backstop with two outs, allowing Nick Loftin to score and giving Kansas City a 2-1 lead.
The two teams exchanged solo home runs off the bat of Clemens in the third and the red-hot Michael Massey in the fourth. Massey is now 10 for 20 in his last 20 at-bats.
Ryan Kreidler scored on an RBI triple in the fourth, giving the Twins a 4-3 lead. Clemens stayed hot, adding his second solo home run of the game to extend Minnesota's lead to 5-3.
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With runners on first and third for the Royals and two outs, left-handed hitter Carter Jensen stepped up to the plate. He shot a line drive down the left-field line, scoring two runs as Kyle Isbel beat the tag at the plate for the tying run.
Witt Jr. then was the beneficiary of a Little League mistake by the Twins' middle infielders as they collided while going for a pop-up, dropping the ball and allowing Jensen to score, giving the Royals a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning.
After an hour-long rain delay, catcher Victor Caratini delivered a solo home run in the eighth inning to tie the game at 6. The two teams entered the ninth inning tied.
Salvador Perez got the inning started with a single. Then Lane Thomas did the same, pulling an inside pitch into left field. Isaac Collins laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving the Royals' runners to second and third.
Maikel Garcia got a pinch-hit opportunity and walked. Then Josh Rojas also received a pinch-hit opportunity in his Kansas City debut and singled through the middle to break the tie and drive in two runs, giving the Royals an 8-6 lead. It was a huge two-out hit for the young infielder. Alex Lange protected the lead in the ninth inning, recording a save and sealing the victory.
