The Kansas City Royals used a big fifth inning to defeat the Minnesota Twins, 10-5, on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. The win marks the third straight for Kansas City, who upped its record to 65-77.
The big inning propelled Royals starter Luke Hochevar (8-13) to a win despite the righty giving up five runs in five innings. The Royals hit six singles and added one walk to score five runs in the top of the fifth, giving them a 6-3 lead while handing Twins pitcher P.J. Walters (2-4) the loss.
Kansas City poured on four additional runs with more singles in the eighth inning as well, helped along by a pair of errors by Twins left fielder Ryan Doumit. Designated hitter Billy Butler led the offensive surge for the Royals, going 3-5 with three RBI. Salvador Perez also hit a solo home run, his 10th of the season.
Luis Mendoza (7-9, 4.63 ERA) takes the mound tomorrow for the Royals in the final game of the series, facing off against Minnesota's Liam Hendriks (0-7, 6.20 ERA).
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