The Twins fought back from their 5-1 deficit to Kansas City to tie Sunday’s game at 7. But a pair of late-inning solo home runs lifted the Royals to a 9-8 victory and a split of the four-game series at Target Field.
The tie-breaking blow came in the 8th inning off the bat of David Lough, who was a real Twins-killer on this afternoon. Lough, who bats eighth in the Royals lineup, had already hit three doubles before his homer.
Lough’s home run was followed by an Eric Hosmer blast in the 9th. That turned out to be the margin of victory, when Trevor Plouffe homered for the Twins in the bottom of the inning.
Reliever Jared Burton was tagged with his fifth loss in six decisions, after starter Kevin Correia turned in an undistinguised outing. Correia allowed five earned runs in as many innings.
The Twins’ comeback was helped by a two-run homer from Justin Morneau, who’s been red-hot at Target Field lately. Another key blow was a pinch-hit double by Josh Willingham. Willingham was not in the starting lineup because of soreness in his left knee. He acknowledged to the Pioneer Press the knee pain is frustrating, partly since it comes barely two weeks after a cortisone shot that was meant to ease the inflammation.
