:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37634280/20140828_pjc_sr9_617.JPG.0.jpg)
Last night's game in Kansas City featured something that hadn't been seen in a while -- the Minnesota bats coming alive and runs coming across the plate. In a game that featured several players with several hits, the Twins had 4 players with a double, and another with a triple (one of those players with a double was Kurt Suzuki, who actually had two of them, and remains pretty awesome). The pitching was able to keep the team in the game, despite Tommy Milone giving up 9 hits in his 5 1/3 innings pitched. All but one of the Kansas City runs was attributed to him, with the other coming from Ryan Pressly in the sixth.
The offense was truly the story of the game tonight, with Jordan Schafer really shining. He went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI. The 6-run tenth inning was where the Twins' offense really shined, with Eduardo Nunez' winning RBI single being topped off with Schafer, Brian Dozier, and Kurt Suzuki all knocking in at least another run apiece. The big score was a nice change, after dropping the previous two games with only one run scored in each.
Despite dropping the past couple games, the Twins bullpen managed to hold it together long enough to assure the win. While Ryan Pressly's run allowed tied up the game 5-5, the rest of the pen came in and shut out the dangerous KC lineup, with Jared Burton, Casey Fien, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak, and Glen Perkins combining for 4 scoreless innings. They also only allowed 2 hits during that time frame.
Overall, the game was a nice showing for a team that's been struggling of late (well, for the past few years, really, but who's keeping track of that?), especially against a division rival who also happens to be in first place.
ROLL CALL
| # | Commenter | # Comments
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devereaux | 36 |
| 2 | MarkGerard | 15 |
| 3 | myjah | 15 |
| 4 | less cowbell, more 'neau | 12 |
| 5 | SooFoo Fan | 11 |
| 6 | twinscrazy_german | 7 |
| 7 | Imakesandwichesforaliving | 3 |
| 8 | Gunnarthor | 2 |
Win Probability, courtesy of FanGraphs.com
<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=wins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2014-08-28&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/wins.aspx?date=2014-08-28&team=Royals&dh=0&season=2014">FanGraphs</a></span>
What's Next
The Twins take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards Friday night, with game time at 6:05 pm CST. Pitching matchup will face Trevor May and Miguel Gonzalez.