MINNEAPOLIS – A back-and-forth game Thursday night ended with the Royals getting the last word and a big series-opening win, 8-6, over the Twins at Target Field.
No matter what the Royals did throughout Thursday’s game, the Twins had an answer, scoring one run each in the first six innings. They did not have an answer, though, for the ninth inning.
Perhaps because the guy with the game-winning RBIs wasn’t on the Royals’ roster at all until Thursday afternoon, and didn’t arrive at Target Field until right before or possibly during the game.
Josh Rojas, whose contract was selected by the Royals ahead of Thursday’s game, knocked a two-run, go-ahead single in the top of the ninth inning in his first at-bat as a Royal this year, slicing a sinker from Twins reliever Justin Lawrence up the middle where it bounced off the mound with the bases loaded and one out.
It was, strangely, his second hit of the day, as he recorded a double in the top of the fifth inning with Triple-A Omaha before he was removed in the bottom of the fifth to join the Royals in Minneapolis.
But his ninth-inning heroics were the last word the Royals needed in a wild game that saw lead changes or a tie game nearly every inning.
Right before a storm rolled in and caused a 1-hour, 7-minute rain delay, the Royals created their own chaos in the top of the sixth inning. With Isaac Collins on first after a leadoff walk, Kyle Isbel poked a two-out single through the left side to put runners on the corners and turn over the lineup. The Twins turned to lefty reliever Anthony Banda against the left-handed Carter Jensen – who snuck a double just fair down the third base side.
Collins easily scored, but third-base coach Vance Wilson’s aggressive send of Kyle Isbel home seemed questionable at first … until it worked. Left fielder Trevor Larnach threw a dart home, but catcher Victor Caratini didn’t apply a good tag, and Isbel was able to sneak in safely for the game-tying run.
Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a pop-up that dropped between shortstop Ryan Kreidler and second baseman Luke Keaschall for the go-ahead run.
Starter Seth Lugo did not have his best stuff Thursday, allowing five runs in five innings, including three homers – two of which came from Kody Clemens, who has now hit seven home runs off the Royals in his career. Lugo was checked on by the Royals' training staff at one point because his right ring finger was bleeding, which may have affected things, even if the cut was on the top of his finger.
It took until the seventh inning for the Royals' pitching staff to keep the Twins off the board, with Daniel Lynch IV finally throwing a scoreless frame. But Matt Strahm followed with a scoreless eighth, and Alex Lange picked up his second save in as many nights in the ninth.