*Photo from the Star Tribune*
There's an old saying in baseball, no lead is safe, and that was on perfect display. Kyle Garlick homered, Gio Urshela drove in the winning run, and the Minnesota Twins rallied to defeat the Kansas City Royals with a 7-6 victory on Sunday afternoon in Kansas City.
Entering the top half of the 8th inning facing a 6-0 deficit, the Twins roared back with a 5 run 8th inning and a two run 9th inning to take a 7-6 lead and get the win. It's the 4th straight win for the Twins, who are also 7-3 in their last 10 games, and have a 4 game lead for first place in the AL Central.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the comeback win "That’s one that is not going to escape my mind for a long time. They had all their good arms out there. The guys just kept fighting and the at-bats were excellent. You don’t see games like that too often. It’s one that I think I’ll always remember in some shape or form."
Andrew Benintendi got the Royals on the board in the 3rd inning, with an RBI single making it 1-0 Royals. In the 6th inning, Hunter Dozier doubled in Whit Merrifield to make it 2-0. Carlos Santana then hit a 3 run double with the bases loaded, and Kyle Isbel singled in Santana, making it a 6-0 lead for the Royals.
In the 8th inning, Jorge Polanco got the comeback started with an RBI single, making it 6-1 Royals. Max Kepler followed that up with an RBI single of his own. Polanco then scored on a sac fly from Gary Sanchez, and Garlick blasted a two run home run to center field, cutting the deficit to 6-5 in favor of the Royals.
In the 9th inning, the Twins were able to tie it up 6-6, when Sanchez hit a sac fly to right center field, scoring Polanco to tie the game. Kepler then scored the go ahead run on an RBI single from Urshela, putting the Twins ahead 7-6, which they would hold on to and get the win.
Asked about the comeback victory, Urshela said that "It was great last two innings as a team we were taking good at-bats which is very important for us. There was good energy in the dugout going into the ninth and we were able to fight back."
Getting the win in relief for the Twins was Tyler Duffey, who pitched a scoreless 8th inning to improve to 2-2 this season. Bailey Ober got the start, allowing one run on 3 hits over 5 innings. Yennier Cano got only one out in his appearance, allowing 5 runs. Trevor Megill pitched 1 2/3 innings, followed by appearances from Duffey and Jhoan Duran, who got the save.
For the Royals, Brady Singer got the start, pitching 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits and 3 walks. Everything unraveled in the 8th, with Taylor Clarke failing to get an out while allowing 4 runs, and Scott Barlow allowing one run in 2/3 of an inning. Josh Staumont got the loss, allowing two runs in one inning, and Collin Snider also pitched at the end.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said that blowing the lead and losing was "Indescribable. As frustrating as it could possibly be. When they’re right in front of you to put away and the back end of your bullpen rested, to lose one of those, you just can’t properly describe it."
Up next, the Twins welcome the Detroit Tigers into town on Monday night, with Chris Archer getting the start. The Royals travel to face the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Zack Greinke to start.
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