Minneapolis — The Royals launched four home runs en route to a 9-3 win over the Twins Friday night at Target Field.
Two of the long balls were allowed by P.J. Walters, who had a second consecutive poor outing. The right-hander gave up six earned runs in just three innings.
He was replaced by Anthony Swarzak, who also gave up a pair home runs to the Royals. Swarzak allowed three runs in four innings of relief.
The barrage of homers couldn’t have been predicted by Miss Cleo. Kansas City entered the game with 43 home runs — dead last in Major League Baseball.
James Shields earned the win. The former Tampa Bay Rays starter scattered eight hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked none.
The Royals’ 3 and 4 hitters — Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler — combined to go 6-8 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI and 5 runs scored.
Kyle Gibson starts for the Twins in what will be his MLB debut Saturday at Target Field.
