Royals 13, Twins 9: Can't Blame It on the Rain, as Twins Rally Late but Fall to Royals

[Sherry Cerny]

Image courtesy of © Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

 

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan 4 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (77 pitches, 49 strikes)
Home Runs: -0-
Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan -0.25, Byron Buxton -0.07, Matt Wallner -0.05
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Twins continued their first divisional series of the season, looking to bounce back after continuing their losses from Baltimore into Kansas City. Heading into tonight, the Twins were also trying to come out with a better record, after losing 10 of their last 12 games there. Alas, it was more of the same frustrating formula, as Minnesota fell to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in a game that felt all too familiar.

The Twins were hoping for Joe Ryan to continue the good work he did on Opening Day, when the team fell to Baltimore but Ryan looked magnificent. Instead, the Royals jumped ahead in the second inning, capitalizing on a two-out double from Jac Caglianone. That moment sparked a string of two-out damage against Ryan. Isaac Collins followed with a double of his own, and after a single by Kyle Isbel, Caglianone came around to score. Isbel then advanced on a stolen base during Maikel García’s at-bat, setting up another scoring opportunity against a clearly struggling Ryan.

García worked a five-pitch at-bat before sending a ground ball that appeared playable for shortstop Brooks Lee, but it deflected off his arm, allowing Isbel to score. Ryan retired Bobby Witt Jr. on a pop fly to end the inning, but the damage had already been done.

The Twins were not only scoreless through three innings, but they had more challenges than hits. Matt Wallner, who had already drawn attention for an ill-advised challenge during the Orioles series on a pitch that was clearly a strike down the middle, added to the frustration. He challenged another call, lost it, and ended the first inning, leaving the Twins with just one remaining challenge for the next 24 outs.

Fortunately for Minnesota, they would later win two challenges before the end of the third, something they desperately needed. Still, it raises the question of whether Wallner should be on some sort of “challenge timeout,” if such a thing exists.

Meanwhile, the rain intensified from a light mist to a steady sprinkle, but play continued as both teams pushed to reach the fifth inning. The Royals kept the pressure on, adding another run in the third to go up 4–0. In the fourth, they loaded the bases with no outs, threatening to break the game open. However, Ryan, with help from his defense, limited the damage to just one run. The fog got denser. Fly balls became hard to see; ground balls became hard to handle cleanly.

The game was still alive starting the fifth. After a pop-out by Victor Caratini, Royce Lewis banged a double out to the right-center field gap, followed by a single from Lee, scoring Lewis to narrow the gap to 5-1. A very frustrated Martin, who has been hitting well this series, saw seven pitches before striking out. Buxton did likewise, to end the inning. 

Cody Laweryson replaced Joe Ryan in the fifth inning, making his 2026 debut. The rookie was immediately tested—baptized by rain at Kauffman Stadium—but showed flashes of composure. He struck out two and held the home side at bay in that first frame.

Laweryson returned for the sixth, as did the grounds crew, drawing cheers as they worked to keep the field playable. But the worsening conditions began to impact his command. He loaded the bases with no outs and walked in a run, allowing Jac Caglianone to score and extend the Royals’ lead to 6–1. As the farce deepened, Matt Wallner chased a fly from Witt into foul territory and slammed into the wall, missing the catch. Clearly frustrated, he quickly regrouped and redeemed himself by tracking down Witt’s ensuing sacrifice fly for the first out. Still, the lead stretched to 7-1.

Twins manager Derek Shelton turned to Zak Kent to stop the bleeding, but Kansas City kept the pressure on. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jonathan India delivered the decisive blow—a grand slam that broke the game open at 12–1.

The Twins showed signs of life in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Austin Martin won a challenge that overturned a called strike into a ball, resulting in a walk that made it 12–2. Luke Keaschall followed with a two-run double, trimming the deficit to 12–4.

The Royals answered with a run in the bottom half to push the lead to 13–4, but Minnesota wasn’t done. In the eighth, facing Alex Lange, the Twins mounted another rally. Jeffers and Josh Bell drew walks, and Caratini drove a ball into the right-center gap to bring in a run, cutting it to 13–5 with no outs. Martin kept the line moving by being plunked, which forced in another run, making it 13–6.

The Twins refused to go quietly. After two quick outs, Bell stepped in and benefited from a successful challenge that extended his at-bat. On the very next pitch, he launched a three-run home run deep to left field, pulling Minnesota within 13–9 and injecting late life into the game.

But the rally stalled there. Royals closer Lucas Erceg was able to shut the door, with the tying run dying in the on-deck circle.

The Twins can’t pin this loss on the weather. The rally was too little, too late.

With a return to Minnesota ahead, Ryan will have a chance to reset and reestablish himself in front of the home crowd—an opportunity to get back to the command and reliability that define him at his best, and the offense can keep forging forward and hopefully continue to show the same grit they showed tonight. 

What's Next
Minnesota has one more chance to claim a win in Missouri, before heading to Target Field to welcome back the fans for the home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Twins will tab Taj Bradley to the mound, while Kansas City is expected to send ace southpaw Cole Ragans out there, Thursday at 1:10 PM CT.

Postgame Interviews

(Coming Soon)

Bullpen Usage Chart

 

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[JD-TWINS]

Quit watching tonight at 5-0. Saw the Final score and was curious about how the runs were scored - hit the Play by Play button and skimmed through the 9 innings.

Martin continues to be productive, very productive! Weather may have skewed some of the results (9 hits AND 9 walks) but it didn’t seem to change anything Matt Wallner is doing at the plate…….. 1st inning - 6th inning - 7th inning - Struck Out LOOKING all 3 times. Wow!! I may have been disrespectful earlier on Wednesday when I said Wallner reminds me of taller Eddie Julien - that may not be fair to Eddie!

Gotta say, I am a bit concerned (bad weather tonight!) that a Team gets 9 walks when trailing the entire game……….seems a bit passive……… it didn’t appear anyone had more than one hit.

[Lasorda_This_Out]

No need to Panic at 1-4?

Let the Shelton hire play it's way out?

 

 

[Lasorda_This_Out]

The beard trim looks like he did it himself in a mirror?

Does MLB have any say in the appearance/presentation of a MLB Manager?

[Cody Christie]

 

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Gotta say, I am a bit concerned (bad weather tonight!) that a Team gets 9 walks when trailing the entire game……….seems a bit passive

Passive is an appropriate criticism.  This team needs more fire and passion.

[Cody Christie]

 

[adjacent]

As part of my lent sacrifice, I watched most of the game last night. Our infield defense was really bad. It did not help Ryan at all. 

[shimrod]

I'm ready to just let the ABS call balls and strikes. Terrible game by the home ump (crew chief no less).  The majority of the bad calls went against the Twins which matches my recollection from last year when there was no recourse. 

Perkins noted that with a large lead in bad weather the umps are incentivized to expand the strike zone and get the game over with. Without ABS challenges keeping at bats alive the Twins are blown out last night and never get within striking distance. 

If the Twins had lost another early challenge we would have seen a completely different game.

Umpires are supposed to call them as they see them, not based on who's playing and game conditions. If they can't do that (and they aren't) then let objective technology keep the playing field even for both batters and pitchers. We have the technology to maintain a consistent strike zone. Just use it. 

EDIT: Some might argue the playing conditions explain the missed ball and strike calls. If so that's one more reason to take that burden off the umpire and let the technology do the job properly.

[Aggies7]

59 minutes ago, Cody Christie said:

 

Man that’s sad 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Lasorda_This_Out said:

No need to Panic at 1-4?

Let the Shelton hire play it's way out?

 

 

I'm not panicking. I'm becoming apathetic, which is worse. 

[laloesch]

42 minutes ago, shimrod said:

I'm ready to just let the ABS call balls and strikes. Terrible game by the home ump (crew chief no less).  The majority of the bad calls went against the Twins which matches my recollection from last year when there was no recourse. 

Perkins noted that with a large lead in bad weather the umps are incentivized to expand the strike zone and get the game over with. Without ABS challenges keeping at bats alive the Twins are blown out last night and never get within striking distance. 

If the Twins had lost another early challenge we would have seen a completely different game.

Umpires are supposed to call them as they see them, not based on who's playing and game conditions. If they can't do that (and they aren't) then let objective technology keep the playing field even for both batters and pitchers. We have the technology to maintain a consistent strike zone. Just use it. 

EDIT: Some might argue the playing conditions explain the missed ball and strike calls. If so that's one more reason to take that burden off the umpire and let the technology do the job properly.

I've been saying this for years.  The Umps behind the plate are too inconsistent and some of them are downright bad at defining the strike zone consistently with their calls.  Just switch over already and be done with it.  

[tarheeltwinsfan]

11 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Man that’s sad 

This says so much about the Twins' constant failure to advance runners and hit behind runners. Someone please listen to me!

[laloesch]

1 hour ago, Lasorda_This_Out said:

No need to Panic at 1-4?

Let the Shelton hire play it's way out?

 

 

This is a 90 to 100 loss team, no question about it in my head.  Gonna be a LONG season.

[DJL44]

Ridiculous conditions for a game. When Royce Lewis looked up to find a pop up and saw only the rain pouring into his eyes they should have suspended the game. I am shocked there were no injuries. Lousy night for everyone, including the Kansas City fans who deserved a better experience for their ticket price.

[LastOnePicked]

Excited for the next Tom Pohlad interview. Maybe after the opening homestand.

[mikelink45]

The biggest takeaway for me is Wallner - I don't mean his challenge - it is obvious he does not know a strike zone and his ability to stand and watch a third strike go by seems like a good ticket for a bench seat. 

[shimrod]

5 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

The biggest takeaway for me is Wallner - I don't mean his challenge - it is obvious he does not know a strike zone and his ability to stand and watch a third strike go by seems like a good ticket for a bench seat. 

It appeared to me he knew those were strikes. I think he's using the technique often discussed by Morneau. "Have a plan". If the pitcher doesn't throw what Wallner is planning on he just freezes. 

The plan with two strikes needs to include protecting the zone even if the pitcher throws a fastball instead of the slider you were expecting. Jeffers shows the ability to choke up and protect the plate. Wallner seems content to swing for the fences if he guesses right and strike out if he doesn't. 

[WarPath1211]

Rare Joe Ryan dud. Kent and Laweryson didn’t do anything to indicate they should move up in the bullpen pecking order.

It was nice to see some better plate appearances from guys at the end even if they were against some low-leverage relievers.

So far, either the bats have showed up, or the pitching has showed up, but not both so far. Even in the win, the team scored 4 runs on 4 hits, so the offense really didn't show up. I am still far more concerned about the bats than the pitching, as this was trending to be the 4th game in 5 tries with 5 or fewer total hits before the offense picked up against some weaker relievers.

[Nshore]

1 hour ago, Doctor Wu said:

Passive is an appropriate criticism.  This team needs more fire and passion.

And ability and talent.  

[Aggies7]

I watched the first few innings with a Yankee fan friend of mine and the middle 3 or so with my brother who only very passively follows the twins. First time seeing the twins for both of them this year.

They both said “wow, the twins are really bad huh?”

Yeah, they are. Funny, the royals had no problems with the bad weather. The game should have been stopped due to conditions, but also for sheer ugliness. Those first 6 innings were probably a top 20 all time worst twins game I’ve ever watched. And that was with our ace on the mound. Can it possibly get worse than this?

[Over The Hill Again]

7 minutes ago, shimrod said:

It appeared to me he knew those were strikes. I think he's using the technique often discussed by Morneau. "Have a plan". If the pitcher doesn't throw what Wallner is planning on he just freezes. 

The plan with two strikes needs to include protecting the zone even if the pitcher throws a fastball instead of the slider you were expecting. Jeffers shows the ability to choke up and protect the plate. Wallner seems content to swing for the fences if he guesses right and strike out if he doesn't. 

I swear the only one with a consistent approach in the batters box right now is Martin. Tough, meaningful plate appearances. Gives me hope. 

[jmlease1]

Rough one for Ryan: 9 hits, 5 runs, and only 4 innings doesn't exactly position the team to win. Laweryson and Kent didn't do much to put the fire out either. And the with the offense mostly taking a nap until the 7th, it was a pretty ugly night.

Hard to recall the last time the Twins drew 9 walks and struggled, but there it was.

Good to see Bell get on the board with a dinger, and I like seeing Martin continuing to do Martin stuff by getting on base.

I agree that Wallner needs to have his ABS privileges suspended for a bit. I disagree that Wallner doesn't know the strike zone: dude draws way too many walks to not know the zone, but that doesn't mean he's going to be good at knowing when to challenge a call or that he might not go on tilt about one and need to be reigned back in from challenging. It's going to be interesting to see how teams handle ABS challenges. Catchers are clearly the best at it, unsurprisingly. Pitchers are bad at it, and hitters are somewhere in the middle, with some guys good or great at spotting one and others legends in their own minds.

Not sure Shelton has the best handle on this aspect yet; I mean, he tried arguing an ABS call, which was just silly.

[Dawgzilla]

Lewis face flop on the infield fly summizes the Twins!  Ugly!!!!

[tony&rodney]

It is not much of a consolation but the Twins are playing as hard as they can. When the team is playing just match up the opponents lineup position by position to the Twins and ask yourself who you would pick.  It isn't pretty. 

Things can change but it may be a while.

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Aggies7 said:

Man that’s sad 

Gotta comment that it’s a pretty “unique stat” in that it’s nearly impossible for ANY bullpen in any circumstance, to walk 8 guys! …….. Wallner was trying for the big push to 10!

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, shimrod said:

I'm ready to just let the ABS call balls and strikes. Terrible game by the home ump (crew chief no less).  The majority of the bad calls went against the Twins which matches my recollection from last year when there was no recourse. 

Perkins noted that with a large lead in bad weather the umps are incentivized to expand the strike zone and get the game over with. Without ABS challenges keeping at bats alive the Twins are blown out last night and never get within striking distance. 

If the Twins had lost another early challenge we would have seen a completely different game.

Umpires are supposed to call them as they see them, not based on who's playing and game conditions. If they can't do that (and they aren't) then let objective technology keep the playing field even for both batters and pitchers. We have the technology to maintain a consistent strike zone. Just use it. 

EDIT: Some might argue the playing conditions explain the missed ball and strike calls. If so that's one more reason to take that burden off the umpire and let the technology do the job properly.

Or, if the weather makes it too hard for umpires to call balls and strikes, maybe the game should be cancelled.

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, shimrod said:

It appeared to me he knew those were strikes. I think he's using the technique often discussed by Morneau. "Have a plan". If the pitcher doesn't throw what Wallner is planning on he just freezes. 

The plan with two strikes needs to include protecting the zone even if the pitcher throws a fastball instead of the slider you were expecting. Jeffers shows the ability to choke up and protect the plate. Wallner seems content to swing for the fences if he guesses right and strike out if he doesn't. 

Is choking up with two strikes even legal any more?

[David Maro]

Isn't 13 a football score!! This has become can't watch at this time,even the ace looked bad.

[USAFChief]

6 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Isn't 13 a football score!! 

Yes. I believe currently, in the WFL or UFL or whatever they're currently calling whats currently being played, that's a TD and a FG. If you're trailing.