Twins offense nonexistent in critical loss to division rival Royals

Minnesota mustered just four hits in the shoutout loss to Kansas City.

Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer (12) reacts with catcher Christian Vázquez (8) against the Kansas City Royals after being tagged out at home in the fourth inning at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 6, 2024. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

It’s been a quiet offensive stretch for the Twins, who haven’t scored more than five runs in over a week. It was an even quieter Friday night for the ball club, which couldn’t even find five hits in a critical 5-0 loss to the division rival Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

The loss drops the Twins (76-65) a half game behind the Royals (77-65) in the American League Central standings. The Royals and Twins both trail the Cleveland Guardians, who were still playing at the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time of publication, by four and 4.5 games, respectively. 

The hits the Twins did get Friday night game in bunches; they got back-to-back hits twice, but on both occasions were left with nothing to show from it. In the fourth inning, Kyle Farmer hit a two-out single off Royals starter Cole Ragans and Austin Martin followed up with a double, but Farmer was thrown out at home trying to score as the Royals held on to a 1-0 advantage.

Jose Miranda and Matt Wallner hit back-to-back two-out singles in the first inning to put runners at first and third bases, but Ragans got Farmer to fly out to end the threat. 

Those hits were the only four Ragans gave up while fanning seven across six scoreless innings, and Royals relievers held the Twins hitless the rest of the way. Minnesota came up empty on its only chance with runners in scoring position and left four on base overall in the shutout loss. 

The Royals, meanwhile, were able to do just enough offensively against Twins starter Zebby Matthews. Tommy Pham hit an RBI single in the third inning for a 1-0 lead; Michael Massey hit a 408-foot solo homer in the fourth inning; and Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run single in the fifth.

Matthews fell to 1-3 with the loss while Ragans improved to 11-9 with the victory.

Yuli Gurriel added an insurance run with a sac fly off Caleb Thielbar in the eighth inning. 

The next two games against the Royals are now even more critical as the Twins look to keep pace in the division race. The two teams meet again Saturday for a 6:15 p.m. first pitch.