Royals 8, Twins 2: Bobby Witt Jr. Ignites Royals Against Sparkless Twins

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (99 pitches, 65 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: Josh Bell (14)
Bottom 3 WPA: Ryan (-0.23), Luke Keaschall (-0.11), Ryan Jeffers (-0.11)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins spent the trade deadline adding to their bullpen, and failing to add to their lineup either via trade or call-up. They faced Randy Dobnak a week after getting shut-out over seven innings without any new bats up their sleeves. Joe Ryan took the loss against Dobnak last week, after giving up four runs over six frames. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Let's get nuts Twins Territory!

Behind the Two-Ball Yet Again
The most recent road trip began in Seattle and involved the Twins offense failing early and the Twins starters surrendering two-run leads in the first inning in all three ballgames. Tuesday night in Kansas City started with Dobnak inducing three easy groundouts with only 13 pitches, and Ryan surrendering three hits and two runs in the first inning. Any momentum gained by keeping the lineup intact and being a spender on the market fell flat in the face of Dobnak's sinker. Royce Lewis kept his wingspan of amazing pull radius alive and well with a one-out double down the line in the top of the second, but Brooks Lee looked overmatched and Alan Roden flew out harmlessly to end the threat.

Twins Offense Continues to Be Offensive Post-Break
The Twins have been struggling to push runs across before the late innings since the All-Star Break, and they continued to flounder with runners in scoring position tonight. Lewis was 3-for-3 in the first six innings, but even his hit with a runner at second didn't score the runner. With seven at-bats having a chance to score a Twin in the early frames, only a Roden sac fly plated a runner in the fourth inning. 

With the game now within a run, Ryan looked to keep his squad in the game. He couldn't.

In the bottom of the fifth, a single and a walk put runners on ahead of Witt Jr., and again the superstar did what superstars do with a double past a diving Lee to plate two more royals. Ryan Kreidler chucked the relay throw thirty feet over Jeffers' head, allowing Witt Jr. to reach third base. A single plated him and suddenly the Twins were right back where they were on July 29. Down four runs to Dobnak with only a few innings left to play. Ryan's velocity continues to tick down game by game, and red flags are flying everywhere as he tries to battle through the start of the second half.

The Royals Bullpen Compels You!
If we learned anything from last week's action, its that Twins fans shouldn't turn off the game until its actually over. Add the fact that the Royals bullpen is involved. Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber kept Minnesota off the board, but Steven Cruz was in the giving mood to start the eighth. Josh Bell jumped all over a first pitch fastball for his 14th jack of the season to start the late inning surge. But that's where the rallies ended, and the night ended with yet another lost opportunity to jump back into the playoff picture. Travis Adams failed to finish the bottom of the eighth after some bobbled grounders and throws, and Taylor Rogers allowed both inherited runners plus one of his own to score to end things with an embarrassing 8-2 loss all to show for keeping the strong clubhouse vibe through the trade deadline.

What’s Next?
The Twins look to recover from this four day hangover and get even with the Royals in game two of the series on Wednesday night. The new and shiny RHP Dean Kremer (1-4, 6.50 ERA) will make his first start for his new squad. The Royals will counter with LHP Noah Cameron (5-8, 4.59 ERA) whose last outing involved almost no-hitting the Twins before Kody Clemens slammed the Royals bullpen ultimately. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Gomez	25	0	19	0	0	44
Funderburk	19	3	0	0	14	36
Adams	0	11	0	0	20	31
Rogers	0	14	0	0	14	28
Nance	11	16	0	0	0	27
Minter	0	1	19	0	0	20
Morris	6	12	0	0	0	18
Hoffman	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[thelanges5]

Team loss trifecta - bad pitching, bad defense, bad hitting (not you Lewis and Bell)

Only .5 game out of 4th place

[Glorybound]

Without Buck this offense is toothless. Hard to play meaningful games in September if you are out of it August. 

[tony&rodney]

Best news of the evening is that there is another game tomorrow.

Detroit is coming on.

[90stwinskid]

Gonna start commenting on each game story with our updated post-deadline record, just for fun.

 

Post-deadline record: 0-1

Overall: 56-58

 

If we go 29-20 post-deadline, that puts us at 85-77, which could put us within reach of the playoffs.

 

Lots of baseball left to be played. Go Twins.

[Whitey333]

Another listless performance by the Twins.  And Ryan.  In Ryan's last 3 games he has pitched 15.1 innings giving up 25 hits 16 earned runs and only 10 strikeouts.  His ERA during that span is 9.53.  He looks like he is continuing his poor 2nd half performances over the past couple of years.   They don't have much of a chance without a healthy and productive Joe Ryan.  Not to mention the Perennial injury listed Byron Buxton.  Some players are going to have to step up .  These 2 stars again can't be counted on..Go Twins!

[Permanent Twins Fan]

50 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Best news of the evening is that there is another game tomorrow.

Detroit is coming on.

Detroit is catching up, but they also traded Tarik Skubal and Cazey Mize at the trade deadline so it is hard to see them making a run. Losses happen and the Twins were fortunate to not have lost a game on Chicago or Cleveland, but they need to solve the Noah Cameron problem tomorrow and come away with a victory. 

[Aggies7]

Consistently inconsistent is the way to describe the 2026 twins. You think they have it figured out and they lose 3 in a row. You think they’re fading and they win 3 in a row. I was hoping they’d get hot and stay hot for a bit, but we’re running out of time for that to happen. They need to run off like 5 wins in a row but falling behind early every night is not helping.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Stall warning light is on. Need to take the next two games at Kauffman or we are guaranteed to lose ground on the road trip. Likely a lot of ground as the next stop is Laverne & Shirley's hometown. Won't get any better coming home to face the Phillies and the Braves. 

First priority is hitting. A team that takes an early lead doesn't just put pressure on opponents' pitching and defense, it alters their game at the plate. Assuming the Twins have a pre-game plan for opposing pitchers, it is certainly not being executed well at present. "Hard hit" is not the only index for offensive success.

On the pitching side, the most likely answer to Ryan's loss of command and velocity is rest. Give it to him whether he wants it or not. Rogers is showing that he now at the bottom of the left-handed pecking order.

Defensively, it seems that the best we can hope for is incremental improvements. Let's hope the kids and the coaching staff keep taking those baby steps.