MINNEAPOLIS– Willi Castro hit a three-run home run and Royce Lewis hit a two-run home run in a six-run second inning en route to an 8-3 Minnesota Twins victory over the Kansas City Royals to open a key series between the division rivals and close wild-card contenders on Monday night.
The Twins, who improved to 6-2 against the Royals this season, remained 3 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Cleveland after splitting a four-game series with the Guardians over the weekend, with the third-place Royals falling to five games behind.
The Twins (66-52) hold the second AL wild-card spot. The Royals (65-54) control third place, two games over the cut, in their refreshing push to get back to the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2015 World Series.
Pablo López (11-8) finished six innings with two earned runs allowed to earn his third win in four starts for the Twins. He fell behind on a home run by Bobby Witt Jr. in the first inning and an RBI single by Kyle Isbel in the second inning, who had three hits, but after that the Twins overwhelmed Royals starter Brady Singer (8-8).
Six consecutive batters reached first base with two outs against Singer, whose first three starts after the All-Star break were excellent before the fifth-year right-hander showed some vulnerability in his final two innings.
After Austin Martin led off the attack with an RBI single, Castro hit his ninth home run, tying a career high. Lewis then hit his 15th home run in 40 games.
Witt was hit in the upper arm by a 95 mph fastball from López, but stayed in the game.
TRAINING ROOM
Royals 2B Michael Massey was the first batter after being taken out of the lineup two days ago with a back injury. The team had a rare off Sunday following a two-game series against division rival St. Louis. Massey has been on the injured list twice this season with back problems.
Next
Royals: RHP Seth Lugo (13-6, 2.72 ERA) will pitch Tuesday night. Lugo, who has the most wins and second-most innings in MLB, is 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 12 road starts this season.
Twins: RHP Zebby Matthews, who began the year in Class A, is scheduled to make his major league debut in the middle game of the series as the rotation is reshuffled following Joe Ryan’s injury.
Matthews had not yet been named to the roster but was in the locker room Monday afternoon after being called up from Triple-A St. Paul. The North Carolina native, an eighth-round draft pick in 2022, was expecting family and friends in a group of at least 20 people at Target Field on Tuesday.
“Most of them were kind of shocked. They couldn’t believe this was really happening because I’ve come so far, but they’re really happy for me,” Matthews said. “They’ve all played a big role in my journey, so it’s going to be special to be able to tell them and then have them here tomorrow.”
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