Twins take opener from Royals 6-5 with strong start from Ryan and homers by Miranda and Larnach

Mon, May 27, 2024
MLB News (AP)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Joe Ryan pitched seven smooth innings for the Minnesota Twins, who got a two-run homer by Jose Miranda and a three-run shot from Trevor Larnach and hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Monday in the opener of a four-game series.

Ryan allowed one run and four singles while lowering his team-leading ERA to 2.96. The right-hander struck out nine and walked none.

Ryan (4-3) has pitched at least into the sixth in each of his 11 starts this season.

Alex Kirilloff's two-out RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Twins (29-24) enough insurance to improve to 5-1 since a seven-game losing streak.

Hunter Renfroe's two-out RBI double in the ninth off Cole Sands put men on second and third and the tying run on deck for the Royals (34-21), before Jhoan Duran was summoned for the final out.

Duran hit M.J. Melendez on the foot with an 0-2 curveball, and ninth-place hitter Dairon Blanco reached on a slow-rolling single to third base that cut the lead to three. Maikel Garcia hit a similar ball up the line that Willi Castro fielded but threw off balance and wildly off the bag for an error that allowed a second run to score.

With Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. at the plate, Duran got him to hit a weak bouncer back to the mound to record his seventh save.

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Miranda took Alec Marsh (4-2) deep to the bullpen beyond left-center in the third inning. Larnach hit a two-out fastball into the upper deck above right field in the fifth, a smash measured at 441 feet and 109.1 mph that gave the Twins a 5-0 lead.

Marsh finished five innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed three other hits - all singles - beside the home runs. But his only two walks came in the fifth, preceding Larnach's blast.

The Royals have their first losing streak since a two-game skid from May 4-5 and just their second since April 30. Their eight-game winning streak was stopped on Sunday in Tampa Bay.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Royals CF Kyle Isbel was cleared for action after a full pregame workout but remained on the bench as a precaution, two days after fouling a ball off his face that caused a small fracture in his upper nose. The Royals have been remarkably healthy so far this season, but 2B Michael Massey just landed on the injured list with a lower back sprain.

UP NEXT

Royals: LHP Cole Ragans (4-3, 3.34 ERA) takes the mound on Tuesday night with a 13-inning scoreless streak over his last two starts with 19 strikeouts and just three hits allowed.

Twins: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.57 ERA) pitches the second game of the series. In two starts at home this season, he has allowed only two runs over 11 innings with 14 strikeouts.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

DAVE CAMPBELL Campbell is a sports reporter for The Associated Press, based in Minneapolis. He has covered all of the major teams in Minnesota as well as stories of national interest for the AP since 2000. "