Twins held in check by Cole Ragans, Royals in series finale

Ragans gave up just five hits and one run while fanning eight across seven innings.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Louie Varland (37) throws against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Aug. 14, 2024. / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins got a good start from Louie Varland, but the Kansas City Royals got an even better one from lefty Cole Ragans, who held the Twins in check in a 4-1 loss in the series finale Wednesday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 27,560 at Target Field in Minneapolis. 

The Twins still won the series 2-1 and remain 1.5 games ahead of the Royals in the AL Central.

Ragans gave up just one run — a fourth-inning, 404-foot solo homer to Carlos Santana — off five hits while fanning eight across seven innings to improve to 10-7 on the season. Ragans sent the Twins down in order through three innings, worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning and sent Minnesota down in order again in the sixth and seventh, his lone blemish coming in the fourth.

The Twins had just seven hits overall and were 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

"Ragans is good, he's just good. He's actually better than good," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He came out and executed well."

Varland was similarly sharp after being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to make the start Wednesday, giving the Twins a solid outing and a chance to win the game. While he surrendered a pair of homers, he allowed just three runs off eight hits in all while fanning three across six innings. He walked one.

"Varland threw the ball good. We had every opportunity to stay in this game," Baldelli said.

It was the type of start that should provide Varland more opportunities going forward as the Twins look to replace injured right-hander Joe Ryan in the starting rotation. Varland pitched well his previous time out, too, when he started the nightcap of Friday’s split doubleheader against Cleveland.  

The Royals (66-55) took an early lead in the second inning when Paul DeJong doubled, Freddy Fermin followed up with a single and DeJong came around to score on a Kyle Isbel groundout. 

Bobby Witt Jr. doubled their advantage with a 398-foot leadoff homer in the third inning. 

"It's Bobby Witt. He's a great hitter, he put a great swing in it," Varland said. "I did not think that he would get a piece of it that well enough to put it over the fence, but it is what it is."

Santana got the Twins (67-52) back within one with his 16th home run of the season in the fourth. 

DeJong hit a 435-foot solo homer in the sixth inning to put the Royals back up 3-1. 

DeJong was 3 for 3 with a double, the homer, a walk and two runs scored.

Looking to stay within a couple runs, the Twins turned to Jhoan Duran in the seventh. But Duran, whose velocity was slightly down, gave up an RBI double to Vinnie Pasquantino that made it 4-1.

With one out in the eighth inning, Manny Margot and Royce Lewis hit back-to-back singles off Royals reliever Sam Long in what had the makings of a potential rally. But after getting Santana to fly out, Lucas Erceg came on in relief of Long and got Jose Miranda to ground out to get out of the inning.

Steven Okert pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give the Twins one last chance in the bottom, but Erceg sent Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro and Matt Wallner down in order to close it out.

The Twins begin a four-game series at the Texas Rangers at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday.