Little offense, barrage of late Minnesota homers doom Royals

Apr 2, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2) is tagged out at second base by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) during the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Well, that didn’t go well.

The Royals lost the third game of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, squandering a fine start by Cole Ragans. For the Royals, quiet bats doomed them. The Royals made things interesting in the later innings.

After going down 2-0, Maikel Garcia led off the eighth with a single before moving to third when Bobby Witt Jr. followed with his own single. Runners on first and third with none out, and Vinnie Pasquantino up to bat.

While Pasquantino drove in Garcia with a sac fly, the rest of the from went quietly. Salvador Perez grounded to short and Bob was thrown out at second on a close play. Tolbert pinch-ran for Salvy, stole second, and stayed there as Jac Caglianone looked like a little leaguer against Taylor Rogers.