For the first time since 1975, the Royals swept the Twins in a four-game series at Kaufmann Stadium. Minnesota is now 0-7 in Kansas City, and the Royals lead the season series 11-2.
“It’s terrible, man,” Brian Dozier told the Associated Press. “We’re playing good, it seems like. These past four games we’ve always make that one mistake and against good teams like Kansas City, it’s not getting people in, bases loaded, nobody out, that’s the ballgame.”
It was a pitcher’s duel. Ervin Santana went seven innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs; Danny Duffey went 6.2 and only gave up one earned run.
“We hung in there today with Ervin’s help,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune, “but it’s some of these situations and environments where guys need to step up and our mental toughness needs to improve, and hopefully we do that as we get more experience for our younger core. That’s that what it takes to win on the road, especially against a team that is playing well.”
Trevor Plouffe was 2-for-4 and had the team’s lone RBI. Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar registered Kansas City’s two runs.
“I’m very frustrated,” Molitor told the Star Tribune. “I can’t tell you [what it’s like] to come in here and have to try to endure these four games. The first one and third one were not pretty. There was the rain night. We hung in there today, with Ervin’s help.”
[Star Tribune, Associated Press]
