Royals double up the Twins

Kansas City jumps out to an early lead and holds on behind Michael Lorenzen and the bullpen to take game one from Minnesota.

It seems a bit alarmist to make this statement so early in the season, but these AL Central tilts carry some extra importance this year.

If the Royals expect to be in contention, and if the margins in the division are as thin as many expect, it’s not enough to just pad the record against the White Sox this year. The winner of the division will be the team that consistently performs against their rivals.

It’s against this backdrop that an early season four-game tilt against the Minnesota Twins takes shape. The Twins are reeling, if that’s possible this early in the season. They’ve already proved adept at giving away wins and turning them into losses. Witness their Sunday game against the Astros.

There was no such collapse from the Twins on Monday at Kauffman Stadium. Only submission as the Royals raced out to an early lead and held on for a 4-2 victory.

Game one goes to the good guys.

Starter Michael Lorenzen pitched well, allowing five hits over six innings while striking out three. He didn’t walk a batter. The right-hander got into a spot of trouble in the second as the Twins strung together a pair of doubles and a single. Lorenzen also tossed in a wild pitch for good measure. But sequencing matters and all that action resulted in only a single run.

Meanwhile, the Royals were getting at Minnesota Simeon Woods Richardson their first time through the order. Doubles from Jonathan India and Vinnie Pasquantino plated run number one in the first. A double from MJ Melendez, followed by singles from Maikel Garcia and Kyle Isbel, added another in the second. That meant six of the first nine batters reached against Woods Richardson.

Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the second run in the second on a ground out.

The Royals put two more runners on base in both the third and fourth innings but failed to push across another run. For all their early offensive success, they went just 3-9 with runners in scoring position. The final margin could have—and perhaps should have—been greater.

At the risk of derailing his outstanding start, I am going to give Garcia the Into the Fountains “LOCKED IN” seal of approval. The dude vibes All-Star. Yes, I’m aware we are 10 games into the season and I am absolutely not declaring him a lock for the 2025 AL team. What I am saying is he has a certain look…a look that says he’s here to destroy the psyche of opposing pitchers.

He only collected a single on Monday, so his seasonal output tumbled to .333/.371/.606 with a 167 wRC+, but three of the balls he put in play were absolutely scorched. There was that single that was 102 mph off the bat, a liner between first and second. His second at bat was a fly out to the deepest part of the yard with a 103 mph exit velocity. Then there was a lineout to third at 107 mph off the bat. All three balls in play carried an expected batting average over .600. That’s some bad luck for sure, but if he keeps blistering the baseball like that, the hits will continue to fall.

Isbel’s first hit was a single squibbed just to the left of the mound. It was fielded by the third baseman who had no chance to get Isbel at first. Officially, the ball traveled two feet before hitting the ground. It had a launch angle of negative 46 degrees.

Isbel’s second hit was a bunt leading off the fourth inning. It was, quite literally, a perfect bunt. It was down the third base line and sent Woods Richardson sprawling toward the line, where it pinballed off his glove and into foul territory. According to Statcast, the bunt went three feet in the air with an even steeper launch angle of negative 66 degrees.

Isbel’s third hit? It was decidedly dissimilar from his first two.

That got out of the yard in a hurry. In the aftermath, I surmised that he was hunting for a changeup. Alas, in his postgame comments to Joel Goldberg, Isbel said he was looking for a heater and adjusted when the changeup approached the dish. That’s a helluva adjustment, but given the bat speed (again, officially at 76 mph), it makes sense. He was geeked up, looking for a fastball. Saw the pitch where it was going and decided to swing. He was a bit out in front, but not too much. Home run.

The official Statcast metrics on the dinger was 401 feet with a launch angle of 23 degrees.

Hunter Renfroe…yeah, that was a rough game. More specifically, it was a rough fifth inning. The Royals’ right fielder lost a fly ball in the twilight that fell for a double in the top of the frame. It happens, but Renfroe is a guy who doesn’t need that kind of bad mojo. The good news is the runner was stranded. No damage.

To compound issues, this was the outcome of his at bat in the bottom of the inning.

Really, no commentary is necessary.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing against a pitch clock violation called against Woods Richardson. It resulted in an automatic ball, which happened to be ball four and put India on first with a walk.

Time remains undefeated.

There was a lot going on there. It seemed like Woods Richardson couldn’t hear Pitch Com. Then there was his catcher imploring him to deliver a pitch. Then, Woods Richardson looked like he began his motion with two seconds on the clock, only for the clock to disappear which caused home plate umpire Nic Lentz to call the violation.

Baldelli vibed a manager out there showing his players he had some fire. Let’s be honest…the Twins looked a bit disinterested in the early going which came on the back of a pretty solid collapse on Sunday. Lentz didn’t appear to want to run Baldelli, but eventually the Twins skipper gave him no choice. He was ejected without any enthusiasm, which I appreciated. Like an exasperated parent putting their child in time out after a few too many warnings.

I was entertained.

Lucas Erceg had his regular spot in the eighth inning, but after throwing 17 pitches on Sunday, he was not especially sharp. Yet he did provide the battle of the evening, an epic 12-pitch duel against Carlos Correa with a runner on first and nobody out.

Correa could not lay off the inside sinker and some of those sinkers were really inside. After falling behind 1-2, the Twins’ shortstop fouled off six pitches. Five of them were sinkers off the inside part of the plate. Pitch 12? Exquisitely located up and away. After jamming Correa on just about every pitch (save a changeup for pitch six) it had to have been a relief to see that pitch away. But it was perfectly placed in a spot designed to get a swing and a miss.

Well, maybe not that elevated, but it was close enough and Correa was totally in swing mode. That was a big moment in the inning. Five pitches later, and Erceg got Byron Buxton to ground out to end the inning.

The baserunner in the eighth was erased on a bizarre play where Erceg spiked a slider to Buxton. The ball bounced off Salvador Perez, ricocheted off the brim of Buxton’s helmet and dropped in front of home.

Perez, for his age and size, remains incredibly agile behind the plate with a combination of instincts and reflexes that allow him to continue to thrive. He bounced from behind the plate, grabbed the ball and threw a one-hop seed to Michael Massey at second to nail the runner who broke when the ball bounced away.

I continue to marvel at the play of Perez. What a delight.

Central Issues

Yankees 2, Tigers 6

Detroit starter Casey Mize last won a game at Comerica Park in July of 2021. He earned the victory on Monday, styming the Yankees over six innings, allowing four hits and three walks. He struck out six in outdueling Carlos Rodón, who allowed six runs (five earned) in his six innings of work. Andy Ibáñez hit a three-run bomb and Justyn-Henry Malloy added a two-run single.

The Guardians and White Sox were both off on Monday. They start a series against each other this afternoon in Cleveland.

Up Next

The series continues on Tuesday, with the Opening Day starters for both teams getting the call.

Tue, April 8 - RHP Pablo López (1-1, 2.25) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (0-0, 3.60) at 6:40 p.m.
Wed, April 9 - RHP Seth Lugo (1-0, 3.27) RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 12.15) at 6:40 p.m.
Thu, April 10 - RHP Joe Ryan (0-1, 4.50) vs. vs. RHP Michael Wacha (0-2, 4.66) at 1:10 p.m.