Kendrys Morales' RBI double helps lift Royals over Twins 7-1

A fraction of the drama of the first half of the home stand greeted the Royals as they opened the second half. Fans at Kauffman Stadium weren’t booing or screaming at the opposition on Monday. The Twins didn’t play the role of villain.

The outcome was satisfying to the Royals all the same. A 7-1 victory was crafted with superb pitching, especially by starter Edinson Volquez, and another big swing by Kendrys Morales.

And in what is becoming a Royals’ signature moment, a triple by Paulo Orlando.

Nobody was shaking their fists at the Twins as they were the departed Athletics after the weekend of bean balls and benches-clearing standoffs. The Royals took two of three in that series and got this one off to a good start by not letting the emotions carry into the game.

“I knew that’s exactly what we would do,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “With all the stuff that went on over the weekend, they’re back to playing baseball. Nobody’s really messing with them right now.”

Fallout from the A’s series, in the form of suspensions for pitchers Kelvin Herrera and Yordano Ventura along with others who were tossed from Sunday’s game, could occur as early as Tuesday.

But it was back to business Monday as the Royals improved to 10-3, and for Morales business has been good lately.

His RBI double up the left field line drove in Mike Moustakas and broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth. It was a terrific piece of hitting, hitting from the left side and poking the ball against the shift. A day earlier, Morales muscled up a game-breaking double to deep center from the right side.

“He knows what he needs to do in those situations,” Yost said. “He gets in those RBI situations and he knows what he wants to do.”

The three-run inning broke it open and gave Volquez plenty of cushion. Not that he needed it.

His third Royals start provided his second victory and in the early going has been everything the club had hoped as Volquez essentially replaced James Shields in the rotation.

Monday, Volquez pitched seven innings, struck out five, walked one and gave up five singles. The Twins' run in the second inning was earned but helped along by a throwing error by first-baseman Eric Hosmer.

Over his past 20 starts, dating to last season as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Volquez is 11-2 with a 1.87 ERA.

“My fastball was good tonight, but I don’t think I had my best stuff tonight,” Volquez said. “I had good command.”

Only in the second inning did the Twins have more than one runner on, and that was the only time they moved a runner into scoring position.

The Royals took advantage of the shoddy Twins defense. The three-run sixth started when left fielder Oswaldo Arcia dropped Moustakas’ drive. Twice the Royals scored on wild pitches.

Taking the loss was Kyle Gibson, and this was a rarity. Gibson, the former Missouri All-America, was making his fifth career start against the Royals and seeking his fifth victory.

He entered the game having pitched 26 innings against the Royals and not once did a frame end with the Twins behind. He extended that streak to 31 before the Royals’ big sixth.

Tack-on runs came in the eighth. The Twins misplayed a Morales shallow pop center into an RBI single and Orlando once again did his thing by roping a triple to the right center field gap, scoring two.

Orlando leaves the batter’s box in a dead sprint and when he sees outfielder’s backs turned for the chase he thinks triple.

“When I saw the ball go into the gap, I think triple,” Orlando said.

He has hit five in his seven games in his first Major League season. Entering the day, four other teams in baseball had that many. Kauffman’s spacious alleys plus Orlando’s speed play into this ability.

“The gaps are a little bit deeper here,” Yost said. “But if you watch him run around the bases, I think he’d hit triples in any ballpark.”

Royals 7, Twins 1

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Kendrys Morales' RBI double helps lift Royals over Twins 7-1."