TLDR: The Twins had dropped four straight and lost the first two of this series — then Kansas City blew a two-run lead in the most gut-punch way possible for the home crowd.
−48-67 record, worse footing than Minnesota all year
−Bullpen let a 2-run lead slip late
−Missing Pasquantino and Garcia from the lineup
On the mound it was Bailey Ober against Michael Wacha, a pair of arms who both looked better than their records. Ober came in off a clean 6-inning, 2-run start against this same Royals lineup, and Wacha wasn't far behind — 6 innings, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts in his last time out, even in a loss to Colorado.
Bailey Ober
(7-4)·4.62 ERA
Jul 30 vs Royals
ND
6.0IP
2ER
3K
2BB
79P
08/06 Lineup
Michael Wacha
(6-8)·3.58 ERA
Jul 31 @ Rockies
L
6.0IP
1ER
7K
0BB
99P
08/06 Lineup
Minnesota was already down its rotation depth, with Joe Ryan landing on the injured list this week with a strained left glute — the latest arm lost from a group that also includes Pablo Lopez, David Festa and Mick Abel. Kansas City wasn't exactly whole either, missing Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia from the lineup, but the Royals had taken the first two of this series and carried that into Kauffman Stadium as the favorite.
For a while, that momentum looked like it was going to hold. Kansas City scored 2 in the 3rd and added another in the 6th, building a lead that had a Twins team on a 4-game losing streak looking like it was headed for a series sweep.
Then came the 8th. Minnesota strung together a 3-run rally to flip a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead, with Royce Lewis delivering a no-doubt homer in the middle of it, and the bullpen made the lead stand the rest of the way.
It's a skid-snapper for Minnesota and a rough finish for a Royals team that's now taken its lumps in a season already defined by attrition on the pitching staff.
Twins 4, Royals 3: Final Score & Odds Recap — Twins Erupt Late To Steal One In Kansas City
