The Twins lost the opener of their seven-game home stand to the Kansas City Royals 6-1, Monday night at Target Field.
Twins starter Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He was tagged with the loss. Royals starter Danny Duffy (5-7) pitched 5 2/3 innings to pick up the victory.
It was a big night for Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar. He was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. He crushed a two-run double in the second inning to give the Royals and early lead.
Escobar then hit another two-run double in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.
Twins miscues set up those two runs in the eighth inning. Twins second baseman Brian Dozier had a rough go at second base in the eighth inning. Two Dozier errors gave the Royals an opportunity and Escobar made them pay.
Brian Dozier had 5 errors in 79 games before tonight. He now has 2 errors in the 8th inning. #MNTwins
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) July 1, 2014
Eduardo Nunez had a pair of hits in his return from the disabled list. Nunez was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Chris Parmelee also had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to nine games, and Joe Mauer was 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
Kurt Suzuki also had a pair of hits, in the game.
The Twins were just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and they left 11 runners on base.
The series will continue on Tuesday night at Target Field.
