Royals surrender 6-3 lead en route to sweep by Twins

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eddie Rosario hit a go-ahead single in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins again rallied late against Kansas City, beating the Royals 7-6 on Wednesday.

After Max Kepler hit a tying, two-run single with two outs in the Minnesota eighth, Nelson Cruz drew a leadoff walk in the ninth from Wily Peralta (0-1).

Pinch-runner Byron Buxton stole second and scored when Rosario followed with a single.

Willians Astudillo and Mitch Garver each had three hits and scored twice for the Twins.

Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 25 games, tied with George Brett and Mike Sweeney for third longest by a Royals player. Alex Gordon homered and drove in four runs for Kansas City.

Oh, Gordo puts a hurtin’ on this one and the #Royals are up 5-3!
Watch now on FSKC and FSGO. pic.twitter.com/vG20JVWMwN

— FOX Sports Kansas City (@FSKansasCity) April 3, 2019

Adalberto Mondesi kept up his fast start for the Royals with two more hits, including his third triple of the season. The 23-year-old shortstop also flashed the leather in the field, laying out for a catch in shallow left to leave the bases loaded in the sixth and then starting an inning-ending double play with two runners on in the seventh.

Trevor May (1-0) threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win and Blake Parker picked up his second save in as many days.

The game drew an announced crowd of 10,575. A day earlier, the Twins scored the tying run in the ninth and won 5-4 in the 10th on an RBI single by Cruz — a game that drew 10,024, the lowest at Kauffman Stadium in eight years.

Despite surrendering a run in the bottom of the first, Twins starter Kyle Gibson cruised through 4 2/3 innings. But after retiring the first two hitters in the fifth, the next seven batters reached base — one on an error — and he left with the Royals leading 6-3.

Three Twins relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. The Kansas City bullpen faltered, giving up four runs and six hits over four innings.

Homer Bailey, who was 1-14 with a 6.09 ERA last year with Cincinnati, was solid in his first Kansas City debut. He threw five innings, allowing five hits and three runs and striking out eight batters. But for the second consecutive day, the KC bullpen couldn’t shut down the Twins.

Yost says the #Royals bullpen is struggling. “You’ve just got to give them time to iron it out.” pic.twitter.com/n2tdNLZB2s

— FOX Sports Kansas City (@FSKansasCity) April 3, 2019

GETTING IN A GROOVE

After three off days in the first week of the season, Kansas City will play games on 19 consecutive days beginning Saturday at Detroit, something manager Ned Yost is looking forward to.

“I’m glad we get past Friday and we get to roll for a while,” Yost said. “I’m happy for that.”

The Twins have five days off in the first 12 days of the season, the most in baseball. Beginning April 12, Minnesota has a game on 13 straight days.

ROSTER MOVES

Kansas City added Bailey to the roster prior to the game. RHP Chris Ellis, who made his major league debut Sunday, was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Royals: Jakob Junis gets his second start of the season Thursday as the Royals hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Detroit for a three-game series with the Tigers. Junis was the winning pitcher Saturday in his first start of the season, giving up three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings of work as the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6.

Twins: Jake Odorizzi tries to follow up an outstanding first start of the season Friday at Philadelphia as Minnesota continues a nine-day road trip. Odorizzi matched his career high with 11 strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision Saturday against Cleveland.