Bobby Witt Jr. hit a go-ahead single during a four-run eighth inning, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night. This win gave the Royals a 1 1/2-game lead over the Twins for the second AL wild card spot.
“That’s what you dream of,” Witt said. “Those are the moments you want to be in. You’ve just got to control what you can control and just get a good pitch. You just have to be there in the moment.”
The Royals, who managed only one hit in the first seven innings off Bailey Ober, came back against Jhoan Durán (6-9) and Griffin Jax. This victory marked their third straight win following a seven-game losing streak.
Kansas City (78-65) is in second place behind Cleveland in the AL Central, while Minnesota (76-66) is in third place after losing four of their last five games.
Durán, who threw five pitches over 100 mph, entered with a 2-0 lead but gave up a single to Freddy Fermin and then hit Robbie Grossman with a pitch. Kyle Isbel followed with an RBI single, and Jax came in to try for a five-out save.
“The quality of at-bats against Durán was outstanding,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “We’ve seen these guys never give up. The pitching kept us in the game.”
Tommy Pham hit a slow roller to Brooks Lee, who made a throwing error, allowing pinch-runner Dairon Blanco to score from second base.
Witt, who leads the majors with a .336 average, hit a single into short center field, bringing Isbel home for a 3-2 lead. MJ Melendez then drove in Pham with a two-out single off Jax, who blew a save for the fifth time in 13 opportunities.
“When you’ve got a two-run lead in the eighth inning, you should win the game. Period,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “When you aren’t able to complete it, it’s going to frustrate everybody and it should.”
Daniel Lynch (1-0) gave up just one hit in three scoreless innings.
“We’re not sitting here talking about a win without what Lynch did,” Quatraro said. “Three innings — that’s about as efficient as they come.”
