Whit Merrifield leads way as Royals win second game to split doubleheader with Twins
Whit Merrifield felt like he let opposing pitchers get away with a few pitches they shouldn’t in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. So he came out swinging in Game 2.
The Royals outfielder and leadoff hitter doubled on the first pitch of the game and kept pouring it on from there. He went 3 for 4, hit the game-altering three-run homer in a tie game and drove in all four of his club’s runs in a 4-2 victory.
With Merrifield driving the offense, the Royals split the twin bill at Target Field after losing the first game by the same score. Royals manager Mike Matheny, in his first season with the club, picked up his 600th career win. His .552 winning percentage (600-486) is fourth-highest among active managers.
The teams will continue their four-game series Sunday afternoon.
Merrifield came within a triple of hitting for the cycle for the second time this season. Catcher Cam Gallagher reached base three times with a walk and a pair of hits, while second baseman Nicky Lopez also collected two hits and a walk for the Royals (9-12).
“I was upset with my aggression in the first game,” Merrifield said. “I felt like I let some balls go by that I wasn’t ready to hit. I made that mental adjustment going into Game 2 and got some good pitches to hit and put some good swings on them.”
Merrifield swung at the first pitch in all three at-bats against Twins starter right-hander José Berrios and he smashed two for extra bases. He fouled off the first pitch he saw in his second at-bat before he hit the second for an RBI single.
Merrifield’s fourth-inning three-run home run, also on a first pitch, tipped the game in the Royals’ favor. Adalberto Mondesi reached on a fielder’s choice and Gallagher laid off a 3-2 slider to draw a walk and set the table for Merrifield.
“Familiar with him, familiar with all his pitches,” Merrifield said of Berrios. “I’ve seen all his pitches these last however many at-bats I’ve had. I guess that was my sixth at-bat off him. I saw a changeup out of his hand. It was a good pitch for me to hit. I did a good job of letting it get to me and got enough on it to get it out.”
Merrifield’s fifth homer of the season moved him into a tie with Jorge Soler and Miakel Franco for the team lead. Franco homered in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
“He’s such an all-around good player, watching the things he’s doing all over the field,” Matheny said of Merrifield. “Having the ability to hurt you too if you make a mistake. He’s just taking a nice, short swing, not trying to do too much. It’s just such a great lesson for all our guys.”
Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk, and he struck out eight in five innings to earn his first win of the season.
The Royals left the bases loaded without scoring a run in the first inning, then Duffy ran into trouble right out of the gate.
An error by first baseman Ryan O’Hearn allowed the first batter to reach. After a single and a wild pitch, Duffy faced the heart of the Twins’ batting order with runners on second and third with no outs in the first inning.
Duffy limited the damage to one run on a Marwin Gonzalez sacrifice fly that drove in Mitch Garver. The Twins made Duffy throw 27 first-inning pitches.
The Royals evened the score in the second inning on a Merrifield RBI single that drove in Lopez. The score remained deadlocked at a run apiece until Merrifield’s homer in the fourth.
Duffy, who made his fifth start of the season, settled in after the first inning. He retired 12 of 13 during a stretch from the end of the first into the fifth. His one miscue came on a solo home run by Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz in the fourth.
Cruz’s homer, his second of the doubleheader, cut the Royals’ lead to two runs, 4-2.
Aggression on the bases ran the Royals into a pair of outs in the sixth inning.
Lopez got thrown out trying to stretch a single to center field into a double to start the inning. After back-to-back singles by Mondesi and Gallagher, Mondesi got picked off second for the second out of the inning. They started the inning with three consecutive hits but did not add to their lead.
Duffy turned it over to the high-octane bullpen duo of Josh Staumont and Trevor Rosenthal to close the seven-inning game down. Both feature fastballs that reach 100 mph. Rosenthal recorded his fifth save in five chances this season.
“You go out with the same mindset every time, to try to eat as many innings as possible,” Duffy said. “I haven’t been able to do that up to my standards this year, but today we were able to give five and brought in two guys that throw a million mph after me, so it worked out perfectly. I think our plan was executed pretty good.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
