The Twins defeated the Royals 7-2 on Saturday evening thanks in part to their calling card, timely light hitting that found open spots.
Kansas City also had a calling card of their own, as Luke Hochevar seemed to cruise for the majority of the game until running into his characteristic poor inning, which Minnesota took not only the lead, but put the game to bed. Hochevar, who allowed just one run through the first five innings, ended up allowing six runs on 11 hits through six innings pitched. He fell to 3-6 with the loss, and once again saw his ERA rise to over five (5.25).
After Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Kansas City answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning when Eric Hosmer singled with the bases loaded, scoring Alcides Escobar. Jeff Francoeur then his a sacrifice fly to score Alex Gordon and give the Royals a 2-1 lead they would hold until the sixth.
The Twins then scored two in the sixth and three in the seventh, imposing their will on Kansas City again, showing no indication of their record coming into the four game series. On the bright side, the Kansas City bullpen pitched three innings, allowing just two hits and a run. On Mizzou night at Kauffman Stadium, Michael Cuddyer his his seventh home run of the season off former Missouri Tiger Aaron Crow, the Royals new closer.
The top three batters in the Kansas City lineup combined for six of the eight hits on the evening, as Gordon, Melky Cabrera, and Hosmer each had two hits. Hosmer is now batting .302/.333/.509 through his first month as a big leaguer. The guy will be in line to win future batting titles. The full boxscore can be viewed here.
The series comes to a close tomorrow, with Jeff Francis (2-5 4.46 ERA) facing Brian Duensing (2-5 5.37).Gametime is 1:10.