Max Kepler woke up at the plate and the bullpen came through, helping the Minnesota Twins earn a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.
Kepler came into the game in the midst of an 0-for-29 slump but picked up his first hit since July 23 with an RBI single in the second inning. Kepler picked another single in the fourth inning before smacking a double in the eighth to complete a 3-for-4 night at the plate.
Kepler slaps it to left and the #MNTwins are on the board! pic.twitter.com/12iU4iy60W
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) August 16, 2022
While Kepler put Minnesota on the board, the rest of the lineup put the Twins in front. Jose Miranda delivered an RBI single in the fifth inning before Jorge Polanco’s sacrifice fly gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead.
After Gary Sanchez’s RBI single put the Twins up 4-2 in the sixth, the rest of the night was about the pitching staff.
Joe Ryan fell behind early but rebounded to allow two runs and strike out six batters over 5.1 innings. Ryan’s start cleared the way for the bullpen, who watched Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax, and Jhoan Duran combine for 2.2 shutout innings to give Jorge Lopez the ball in the ninth.
The Twins’ closer allowed the tying run to come to the plate but forced M.J. Melendez into a game-ending double play to preserve the victory.
The win helped the Twins climb within two games of the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the American League Central. Minnesota will look to maintain its momentum when Sonny Gray battles Zack Grienke on Tuesday night.
