Benintendi and the bullpen stand tall as the Kansas City Royals win in extra innings
After clashing 13 times already this season, the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins apparently decided to skip the feeling-out stage and got right to the action as the teams combined for seven first-inning runs and three home runs on Friday night.
Then pitching took over the game and the offenses went quiet for the better part of nine innings before Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning to provide the margin of victory in the Royals’ 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in front of an announced 20,803 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
The Royals (64-77) registered their 36th comeback win of the season and improved to 4-5 in extra-inning games.
“Pitching figured some things out,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Daniel Lynch — you’re talking about the first four hitters just hard-hit ball after hard-hit ball and we don’t have any outs — for him to be able to make the adjustment at that point (was impressive.)
“He started driving the ball through the zone. His slider, all of a sudden, got sharper. He was finishing his slider. He was using the third-base side with his heater. Then he started mixing in his changeup and his curveball in about the fourth, and he just started to feel all of his pitches.”
Benintendi went 4 for 5 with five RBIs and scored three runs. Nicky Lopez had two hits and extended his on-base streak to 20 games for KC, while. Michael A. Taylor had a hit and drove in a run.
Lynch, the Royals rookie left-handed starting pitcher, went six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. He didn’t walk a batter, and he struck out four. After giving up four runs and four hits to the first four batters, he allowed just three hits and retired 17 of 20 batters.
Lynch said early on he wasn’t totally confident in the pitches he threw, and that contributed to the poor results. He and catcher Sebastian Rivero, a fellow rookie, weren’t totally in sync at the start.
“I think when we had that mound visit, we all just said ‘okay, new ballgame’ and just sort of tried to flush it,” Lynch said. “So I guess in my mind I threw six scoreless. That’s not what the stats will say, but I can feel better about it. I guess after that we both got on the same page and figured it out.”
The Royals started things off with three runs in the top half of the first inning on Benintendi’s 14th home run of the season. The three-run blast came after Lopez had doubled with one out and Salvador Perez walked.
Lynch couldn’t protect that lead for long. He gave up a moonshot to Byron Buxton — a 457-foot solo homer to begin the bottom of the first. After hits by Jorge Polanco (double) and Rob Refsnyder (single), Josh Donaldson hooked a 3-2 slider into the left-field corner and around the foul pole for a three-run homer.
Lynch gave up four runs before he recorded an out.
“I think there was a couple mental lapses in the first inning where I threw some pitches I knew I shouldn’t have thrown and I did it anyway,” Lynch said. “There was one where I didn’t shake off. I probably could’ve just stepped off and changed the pitch. I’m not saying the same result wouldn’t have happened, but I think I would have given myself a better shot.”
After the first inning, Minnesota’s starting pitcher Griffin Jax retired 10 of 11. However, the Royals tied the score with two outs in the fourth on Taylor’s 100th career double. Benintendi, who was running hard on the crack of the bat, scored from first on the double to left-center, tying the score 4-4.
The score remained tied until the 11th inning. Perez (two runs scored) served as the automatic runner on second base. He scored on Benintendi’s 11th-inning home run.
Royals relievers Jake Brentz, Josh Staumont, Scott Barlow, Ervin Santana and Greg Holland combined for five no-hit innings. Holland, who came off the injured list on Thursday, pitched the 11th and earned his eighth save of the season in his first appearance since August 14.
The three-game series continues on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. The pitching matchup features Royals right-hander Brady Singer (4-9, 4.58 ERA) against Twins right-hander Michael Pineda (5-8, 3.99).
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:26 PM.
