The Minnesota Twins ran into a buzzsaw this weekend as the Kansas City Royals, who own the second-worst record in MLB at 31-75, completed a three-game sweep with a 2-1 victory at Kaufmann Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Twins came into the game holding a 1.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central but also came in with an MLB-worst .657 OPS against left-handed pitching.
With Ryan Yarbrough on the mound, the Twins struggled to generate any offense outside of Matt Wallner’s 475-foot home run in the top of the third inning, with the southpaw allowing just one run on seven hits and five strikeouts over seven innings.
That ball still hasn't landed 😱
Matt Wallner with 445 ft BOMB to tie the game! #MNTwins | #MLB pic.twitter.com/qtAdpvT9w2
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) July 30, 2023
Kenta Maeda did his best to counter Yarbrough, but allowed a solo home run to Freddy Fermin that put the Royals on the board in the bottom of the second inning and a go-ahead double from Maikel Garcia in the bottom of the third inning.
Despite Maeda’s decent start, the Twins couldn’t find an equalizer. And in the bottom of the ninth, Joey Gallo struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance with the tying run on first base to end the game.
Byron Buxton went 1-for-4 with a double in the loss, Willie Castro went 2-for-4, and Carlos Correa went 1-for-4.
After Cleveland’s 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, who are currently fourth in the American League Central, the Twins’ lead in the division is down to 1/2 game. The Twins will try to rebound when Pablo López opens a three-game series against the last-place St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
