The Minnesota Twins were punchless at the plate again on Wednesday night, getting shutout for the third time in the past seven games during a 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
The Twins’ offense has been non-existent through the opening weeks of the season. Entering Monday night, Minnesota ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball with 3.64 runs per game. For all the big names the Twins touted coming into the year, few of them have helped the cause.
Jorge Polanco came into Wednesday’s game hitting .205. Carlos Correa entered with a .184 batting average. Max Kepler is hitting .167 and Miguel Sanó is hitting .067. This quartet had a better night, going 3-for-10 but none of those hits were able to string together a rally.
Instead, it was a dominant pitching performance by the Royals. Daniel Lynch started the game with five shutout innings before handing it to the bullpen. Kansas City’s bullpen took control of the game, allowing just one walk over the final four innings, leaving Minnesota looking for answers at the plate.
What’s frustrating is that the starting rotation has performed admirably. After a shaky debut, Chris Paddack had a solid start, allowing two runs over five innings with four strikeouts. While the bullpen kept the Twins in the game, the offense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
The Twins (4-8) will look to turn it around on Thursday afternoon. Joe Ryan (1-1, 2.70 ERA) will take the mound against Zack Grienke with a first pitch of 1:10 p.m.
