Twins take Royals' Steven Cruz deep three times in the 9th for 5-1 win over Kansas City
Minnesota hit three home runs among its first four batters of the ninth inning, including Kody Clemens and Josh Bell launching back-to-back long balls.
Kody Clemens and Josh Bell hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals, 5-1, on Thursday. The Twins hit three home runs in four batters with Matt Wallner going deep before a Victor Caratini groundout preceded Clemens and Bell’s power display. Steven Cruz served up all three homers for the Royals, taking over for John Schreiber in the ninth inning.
With Minnesota already leading 1-0 in the eighth, Schreiber walked Bell and Royce Lewis to begin the inning. After striking out Tristan Gray, he intentionally walked Trevor Larnach to face Byron Buxton in a right-handed pitcher versus right-handed batter matchup. Over the Wall(ner) pic.
twitter. com/EQTGvrhoV5 — Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 2, 2026 However, Buxton lifted a low, outside cutter to center field for a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. Facing Cole Sands in the bottom of the eighth, the Royals cut the deficit to 2-1 on consecutive singles by Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr.
, followed by a sacrifice fly from Vinnie Pasquantino. Sands then got Salvador Perez to ground out before Taylor Rogers took over for the Twins. He struck out Jac Caglianone on four pitches to end the inning.