Daniel Lynch and Kansas City Royals bullpen stifle Minnesota Twins in 2-0 win
The Kansas City Royals pitching staff, spearheaded by left-hander Daniel Lynch, tossed its second shutout of the season and their first against American League Central Division rival Minnesota since Aug. 20, 2016.
Along the way, the Royals won their third in a row and clinched their first series victory of the season with a 2-0 win over the Twins in front of an announced 8,969 in the second game of a three-game set on a wet Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals (5-5) will look for the series sweep as they finish their homestand on Thursday afternoon.
“A much better version of what we saw in his first start,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Lynch. “And he was really good in the first. I thought he had everything working, both sides, elevated, down when he needed it, change was good, breaking ball was swing-and-miss again. He controlled the counts, did everything we asked him to do. Then we had some really pretty defense behind him.”
Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (1 for 3) had the game’s only RBI, while Whit Merrifield (1 for 4) doubled and scored a run. Andrew Benintendi (1 for 3) also had a hit and a run scored.
Salvador Perez served as designated hitter for the second consecutive day as he recovers from an eye ailment. He went 1 for 3. Nicky Lopez and Hunter Dozier also had hits.
Twins starter Chris Paddock (0-2) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings.
Lynch (1-1) pitched five scoreless innings and allowed four hits, one walk and hit one batter in his second scoreless start of his major-league career (17 career starts). He also struck out two.
He pitched into the sixth inning but he gave up a hit to the first batter and then turned it over to the bullpen.
Lynch was coming off a rough first outing last week in St. Louis in which he gave up six runs and nine hits, including three home runs, in five innings. In that start, he gave up a pair of home runs with two strikes and two outs that drastically changed the outlook of his outing.
“Obviously as much as I want to say I don’t focus on the results, the results are a reality,” Lynch said. “It’s always good to go out there and post a good line. But I felt like Paddock had really good stuff too, so I just really was trying to focus more — not on bouncing back or thinking about last time — I was just like I want to keep us in the game and give us a chance.”
The Royals scored right out of the gate in the first inning thanks to a leadoff double by Merrifield. He smacked a deep drive to the left field wall where Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach made a leaping attempt at a catch. Larnach couldn’t pull it in, but the ball remained in the ballpark.
After a Lopez infield single left runners on the corners with no outs, Bobby Witt Jr. grounded into a double play that allowed Merrifield to score from third.
The Royals held onto that 1-0 edge going into the fifth. Benintendi’s infield single started the inning, then he went first-to-third on a Dozier single up the middle.
With runners on the corners, the speedster Mondesi dropped down a well-placed bunt that went for an infield single and scored Benintendi for the game’s second run. That was Mondesi’s sixth career RBI on a bunt.
Two runs were plenty for the Royals pitching staff. Collin Snider, Jake Brentz, Josh Staumont and Scott Barlow each threw one inning as the bullpen extended its collective scoreless innings streak to 17 1/3. They combined to allow just one hit and one walk.
Barlow, the team’s saves leader and pitcher of the year in 2021, earned his first save of this season.
The game ended on an around-the-horn double play started by Witt at third base and turned by Lopez at second with it finishing in Dozier’s hands at first. The Royals turned three double plays in the game.
“They’re making some really incredible plays,” Barlow said of the defense. “... Any ball that’s on the ground right now, it seems like we’ve got a really good chance of getting it.”
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. on Thursday for School Day at The K. The Twins list right-hander Joe Ryan (1-1, 2.70) as their probable starter, while right-hander Zack Greinke (0-0, 2.45) will start for the Royals.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 9:46 PM.
