Kansas City Royals face frustrating night in Minnesota. It’s their 3rd straight loss
The Kansas City Royals’ woes against the Minnesota Twins continued on Tuesday night.
Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson tamed the Royals across five innings and picked up his second victory of 2024. He allowed three hits and two runs as the Twins earned a 4-2 win at Target Field.
“He threw a lot of sliders and it didn’t seem like we were picking it up,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You know, it’s a high release and a unique pitch perspective for the slider and we didn’t do much with it.”
The Royals (34-22) dropped their third consecutive game. KC has now lost four of its last five against the Twins.
Minnesota got to Royals starter Cole Ragans early. He allowed two first-inning runs and battled throughout the game. The Twins recorded nine hits and worked deep counts in Ragans’ outing on Tuesday.
Overall, Ragans surrendered three earned runs in five innings and took the loss.
“In the beginning, I just wasn’t getting ahead,” Ragans said. “Bad counts and they made me pay for it.”
Twins third baseman Jose Miranda produced two RBIs. He continued to frustrate the Royals pitchers after blasting a home run in the series opener.
The Royals’ scoring was contained to one inning. Outfielders Garrett Hampson and Kyle Isbel each recorded RBIs in the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Twins infielder Edouard Julien hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-2 in the eighth inning.
In the ninth, Twins closer Jhoan Duran worked around two hits and picked up his eighth save. Royals pinch-runner Dairon Blanco was caught stealing at second base and Duran retired MJ Melendez and Nick Loftin to end the game.
Minnesota improved to 30-24, winning the first two games of the four-game series.
“We are playing some really good ball,” Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe said. “We had a little skid here and didn’t play the best we could today.”
Missed the start of the series?
Game 1: Royals nearly complete late comeback in 6-5 loss to Twins
Top Honors: Bobby Witt Jr. named American League Player of the Week
Here are more notables from Tuesday’s game:
Cole Ragans tested against Twins
Ragans wasn’t sharp against the Twins on Tuesday night. However, he battled through five innings and gave the Royals a chance to win the game.
A big reason was his consistent changeup. Ragans threw the changeup 26 times and it registered 17 swings and nine whiffs, per Baseball Savant.
In the first inning, Ragans allowed three hits. The Twins capitalized by scoring twice to set a quick tone. Miranda had a two-run single.
“He got in some bad counts,” Quatraro said. “The 3-0 count to (Twins star Carlos) Correa kind of set the whole inning. But he threw the ball really well and managed it after that.”
Ragans settled down after the first inning. He allowed one additional run, which came courtesy of a Manuel Margot RBI double in the fourth inning.
“I felt like I settled in there a little bit, but just overall, I left some pitches over the plate and they did damage,” Ragans said.
Vinnie Pasquantino exits early with an injury
Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino left Tuesday’s game after sustaining a leg injury.
Minnesota’s Byron Buxton was running down the first-base line, inside the foul line, and his knee hit Pasquantino’s left leg.
Pasquantino is officially day-to-day after X-rays taken on his left leg were negative. The official injury is a lower left leg contusion, the club said.
Quatraro specified that the injury is near the side of his shin and calf. The Royals will continue to evaluate him as he receives treatment for the injury.
“He is going to be fine, day-to-day,” Quatraro said. “We just have to wait for it to feel a little bit better.”
What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule?
The Royals continue their four-game series against the Twins. On Wednesday, Royals veteran right-hander Seth Lugo draws the start at Target Field.
Lugo leads the American League in wins (8) and earned run average (1.74) through 11 starts this season. The Twins will start right-hander Bailey Ober. He is 5-2 with a 4.33 ERA this year.
This story was originally published May 28, 2024 at 9:33 PM.
