Twins waste Smeltzer’s gem, drop series opener vs. Royals

Devin Smeltzer was dominant in his return from St. Paul, however the Kansas Metropolis Royals scored three runs within the eighth inning to propel them to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night time.

Smeltzer was filling in for Joe Ryan, who was scheduled to begin earlier than being positioned on the COVID-19 listing on Wednesday. The left-hander responded by limiting the Royals to simply two hits over seven shutout innings whereas placing out six batters.

Regardless of throwing simply 80 pitches on the night time, Smeltzer was pulled within the eighth inning with the Twins holding a 2-0 lead. Tyler Duffey got here out of the bullpen and the Royals took benefit, utilizing RBI doubles from Whit Merrifield and Bobby Witt Jr. to take a 3-2 lead.

The Twins mounted a rally of their very own within the backside of the eighth inning, loading the bases with straight singles. Scott Barlow got here on with the bases loaded and no person out however struck out Jose Miranda and Nick Gordon earlier than forcing Max Kepler to floor out to first base to finish the inning.

Byron Buxton ended an 0-for-30 hunch with an infield single to steer off the ninth, however the Twins could not get the tying run house from third base as Kansas Metropolis snapped a six-game shedding streak.

The Twins will look to even the sequence on Friday night time when Bailey Ober takes the mound towards Brad Keller.