MINNEAPOLIS -- The Royals came to Minnesota riding a high from winning a series against the Dodgers and looking to play some better baseball against their American League Central opponents.

Instead, they’re leaving Minnesota after being swept for the second time this season by the Twins.

And Wednesday’s 5-0 loss at Target Field was the latest frustrating installment of the Royals’ offensive woes in 2023.

After a positive series against the Dodgers won on good baserunning and defense, the Royals lost that approach when they got on the road. Against the Twins, the Royals struck out 34 times in three games. That is 34 times they didn’t force Minnesota to make a defensive play, increase their chances to manufacture a run or make something happen on the basepaths.

Kansas City was outscored 22-7 in the first series of this seven-game road trip that concludes with four games against a top-10 pitching staff in Cleveland.

Part of that was because of Twins starter Pablo López, who pitched a complete-game shutout with a career-high 12 strikeouts on Wednesday.

Even if the Royals ran into a couple of tough-luck outs on hard-hit balls, they were kept off balance by López’s offspeed pitches or locked up by his fastball. The Royals whiffed 17 times on 51 swings against López (33%), including five times on his changeup and four times on his curveball. His fastball garnered seven whiffs and 12 called strikes for a 46% called strike/whiff percentage.

López threw 100 pitches. Seventy-six were strikes.

“His stuff was electric,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “From where I was sitting, the breaking ball was exploding. He located the fastball. … I think that’s one of the higher strike percentages I’ve ever seen in a game. Hats off to him. He was just better tonight.”

The Royals mustered just four hits on Wednesday; no one reached third base. They couldn’t figure López out nor make him work hard enough to get him out of the game.

He was at 94 pitches after the eighth inning, and it wasn’t surprising to see him walk out to a standing ovation to the mound for the ninth inning.

“I figured, ‘Why wouldn’t he?’” Quatraro said. “We hadn’t really threatened. His pitch count was low. And his strikes were just one after another.”

López needed just six pitches to retire the top of the Royals lineup. Leadoff hitter Maikel Garcia saw four of those; Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez were both retired on the first pitch.

“That’s just on us,” Melendez said. “... I think we maybe just got a little anxious at the plate. We need to make him work a little more and we weren’t able to do that.”

Despite being overpowered by López for nine innings, the Royals were in the game for six. Alec Marsh, making his second career start, was solid for five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with five strikeouts. He and first baseman Nick Pratto erased two of Marsh’s three walks with pickoffs -- calls the Royals challenged and won.

The first walk, though, came around to hurt Marsh. After a leadoff single to Ryan Jeffers in the third inning, Marsh walked Carlos Correa. He struck out the next two batters but left a slider up to Alex Kirilloff, who lined it to left field.

Melendez fielded the ball and unleashed a throw home that hit Jeffers sliding into the plate. The ball bounced off Jeffers, and because he stayed down by home plate, Marsh’s throw back to home went awry, allowing another run to score.

“Just kind of threw it a little too much up the line,” Melendez said. “Trying to make a good throw. It felt good out of my hand. Still just trying to get used to that angle throwing from left field, haven’t made a ton of those in a really long time. Just trying to get used to that angle again. Ball took off from me a little bit.”

Marsh was handed his second loss of his career, but the rookie has left a good impression on the Royals so far. He’s composed on the mound and has swing-and-miss stuff that can baffle hitters at times. Marsh garnered three whiffs and 10 called strikes on his curveball; the Twins swung at 12 sliders and whiffed six times on the pitch Marsh worked on the most in between starts.

“Just seeing the shapes of it on the analytical side and seeing where it plays the best,” Marsh said. “And then try to consistently get those shapes. It was a pretty easy cue just getting in front of the ball.”