Kelvin Herrera blinks in ninth, Royals lose 4-3 to the Twins in 10 innings

The mistake was a change-up, thrown 89 mph out over the heart of the plate. Kelvin Herrera wanted the ball down, something that Twins pinch hitter Kennys Vargas would chase. He did not want this.

Herrera had already thrown a two-seam fastball that missed. As the final outcome hung in the air — one man on base, one out in the bottom of the ninth, the Royals two outs from a clean and imperative victory over first-place Minnesota — the closer hurled an 89 mph pitch toward the plate. He could feel it immediately.

“I didn’t finish the pitch,” Herrera said.

Vargas was ready to pounce. He unleashed a lightning-quick swing and powered the baseball 438 feet into the upper deck of Target Field. In one second, he delivered a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

One inning later, the Royals’ bullpen would come apart again in a 4-3 loss in 10 innings. In moments, Vargas’ mammoth shot had flipped the momentum and delivered a gut punch on the first day of a 10-day road trip.

Herrera suffered his second blown save. The Royals dropped to 0-6 against the Twins on the season. A night that featured a strong outing from Royals starter Nathan Karns and a collection of spectacular defensive plays by the Royals had transformed into a brutal loss.

“In my mind, I want him to chase a pitch,” Herrera said. “But I leave it there, and he’s got power. It’s just poor execution.”

Last offseason, the Royals dealt closer Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs, a move to free up payroll and a first strike against a looming free-agent crisis. Davis was set to become a free agent after the 2017 season. In return for one year of his services, the club acquired four years of outfielder Jorge Soler. In turn, they handed the closer role to Herrera, a two-time All-Star and one of the game’s preeminent setup men, a vital piece of the dominant bullpens of the past.

Herrera appeared ready to ascend into the role. The results have not quite resembled Davis at his peak. In 18 innings, Herrera has posted a 4.50 ERA. He has blown two saves and absorbed another loss against the Indians on May 6. The latest hiccup came at the worst time, on this night and in this season. The Royals had seized control in the third, taking a 3-0 lead on a two-run homer from Jorge Bonifacio off Twins starter Hector Santiago. They were two outs away from pulling within 3  1/2 games of first place.

“I didn’t do my job,” Herrera said. “There’s no excuses.”

Vargas, a rotund, 290-pound slugger, was pinch hitting for center fielder Byron Buxton because catcher Jason Castro had singled with one out. The Royals’ bullpen was in its fourth inning of relief work because Karns’ forearm could not stay loose. In the bottom of the second, he began feeling some stiffness near the top of the arm, he said. By the end of the fifth, he had thrown just 72 pitches. Royals manager Ned Yost sought to exercise caution.

“It was something we kind of had to work with today,” Karns said. “It was kind of there from maybe the late second (inning) there on through the game. It was just one of those things where every time I went out there, it was a little harder to get it going.”

Karns described the stiffness as “nothing alarming.” He managed to survive five innings while allowing one run and five hits. The only damage came on a solo homer from Robbie Grossman in the fourth.

“Later on in the year, maybe I could grind through and keep going,” Karns said. “But for right now, we want to make sure everything is all right.”

Even after Karns’ early departure, the Royals still had their four top relievers lined up over the final innings. Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless sixth. Mike Minor handled the seventh. Joakim Soria emerged from the eighth unscathed, thanks in part to a terrific diving catch from Alex Gordon with two men on and two out.

“I’ve seen it a thousand times,” Yost said of Gordon’s catch. “But it’s still every bit as impressive every time. You see him make a play like that, especially those diving plays. Because he gets such a phenomenal jump on those balls.”

One night earlier, the Royals had closed out a 4-2 home stand with a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees, pulling within 4  1/2 games of first place entering a three-game series in Minneapolis.

That the Royals embarked on a 10-game road trip in last place, six games under .500, provided a reminder of a miserable April, encapsulated by a nine-game losing streak. That they remained in the neighborhood of first place with 122 games left symbolized the parity inside the American League Central.

In 2016, the Twins had face-planted on their way to 103 losses. On Friday, they opened the day with a 20-17 record and a one-game lead over the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers.

So on late Thursday night, the Royals packed their bags inside a clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium as they awaited a clash at Target Field. But first, they had to wait out a thunderstorm. The team’s chartered plane could not make its way all the way to Kansas City. It circled the airport, before heading back to St. Louis to refuel. By 1 a.m., the club left the stadium and trekked to the airport. The travel party arrived in Minneapolis after 3 a.m.

“Got into the hotel about 4,” Yost said.

The exhausting night would have little effect. The Royals opened the scoring in the second when Cheslor Cuthbert ripped an RBI single into center field with two outs.

The Royals would preserve the lead with defense. In the bottom of the second, Karns allowed a leadoff single to Miguel Sano before giving up a double to Max Kepler that eluded Bonifacio at the right-field wall. The baseball caromed off the padless surface and skidded away. Bonifacio gave chase as the plodding Sano rumbled around the bases.

Bonifacio hit second baseman Whit Merrifield as Sano sprinted toward home. Merrifield turned and fired a strike to catcher Salvador Perez, who applied a smooth tag and kept the game at 1-0.

One inning later, Bonifacio stretched the lead to 3-0 with a blitzkrieg strike against Santiago. Karns would ride the momentum before he succumbed to a bout of stiffness before the sixth.

Inside the dugout, Yost turned the game over to his bullpen. The formula worked for three innings, until Herrera tossed a change-up to Vargas in the ninth.

“It was up a little bit out over the plate,” Yost said. “He’s a big, strong guy. He got his hands extended.”

Twins 4, Royals 3, 10 inn.

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Kelvin Herrera blinks in ninth, Royals lose 4-3 to the Twins in 10 innings."