Twins Fade Late Again, Lose 6-1

This one was much like yesterday. Then it was Ricky Nolasco pitching 7 shutout innings before yielding to the bullpen, where Glen Perkins blew the lead in the 9th inning. Tonight, it was Phil Hughes pitching 7 shutout innings, but then he ran into trouble in the 8th and the bullpen was unable to put out the fire.

Surprisingly Liam Hendriks pitched very well for once in his major league lifetime. He went 7 innings while allowing only 1 run, which came in his final inning. Kennys Vargas singled to right field, and then made an excellent read on Oswaldo Arcia's double, allowing him to score all the way from first base.

However, the wheels fell off in the 8th. Phil Hughes' pitch count was very low and he was pitching well so it was understandable that he started the 8th, but then disaster struck. He gave up back-to-back singles and did get Christian Colon to pop out for the first out, but then Jarrod Dyson laid down a safety squeeze to score pinch-runner Lorenzo Cain. Norichika Aoki then slapped a single to left to give the Royals the lead, and Jordan Schafer smartly threw to 3rd base to retire Dyson. It seemed like the Twins might be able to escape with a slight chance of fighting back in the 9th, but the Royals tacked on 4 more runs off Hughes, Brian Duensing, and Casey Fien to put the game out of reach.

WP: Wade Davis (8-2)

LP: Phil Hughes (14-9)

Studs

Trevor Plouffe (1 for 3, 2B, became Twins all-time leader for doubles by a 3B in a season), Oswaldo Arcia (1 for 4, 2B, RBI), Phil Hughes through 7 innings

Duds

Joe Mauer (0 for 4, 2 K), Eduardo Escobar (0 for 3, 2 K), Twins pitching staff in the 8th inning (6 runs allowed)

Roll Call

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<th width=20>#</th><th>Commenter</th><th># Comments</th>

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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/SooFoo%20Fan">SooFoo Fan</a></td><td>19</td>

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<td>2</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Devereaux">Devereaux</a></td><td>17</td>

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<td>3</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/jere.johnson.37">jere.johnson.37</a></td><td>15</td>

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<td>4</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/myjah">myjah</a></td><td>11</td>

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<td>5</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/twinscrazy_german">twinscrazy_german</a></td><td>7</td>

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<td>6</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Brananorama">Brananorama</a></td><td>6</td>

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<td>7</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/twinsgirl197">twinsgirl197</a></td><td>6</td>

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<td>8</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/whiskeyplz">whiskeyplz</a></td><td>5</td>

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<td>9</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/letsgosioux">letsgosioux</a></td><td>3</td>

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<td>10</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DedicatedFollowerOfFashion">DedicatedFollowerOfFashion</a></td><td>1</td>

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<td>11</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/twinssdfan">twinssdfan</a></td><td>1</td>

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<td>12</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Bloopers%20and%20Practical%20Jokes">Bloopers and Practical Jokes</a></td><td>1</td>

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<td>13</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Black%20Metallic">Black Metallic</a></td><td>1</td>

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Win Probability Chart

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2014-08-27&team=Royals&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2014-08-27&team=Royals&dh=0&season=2014">FanGraphs</a></span>