Twins 5, Royals 0: López Looks Phenomenal, Twins Complete the Sweep

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Pablo Lopez, 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K (100 pitches, 76 strikes, 76.0%)
Home Runs: Edouard Julien (6), Ryan Jeffers (4)
Top 3 WPA: Pablo López (.357), Alex Kirilloff (.160), Édouard Julien (.056)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Pablo López has been a significant source of controversy among Twins fans this season, as Minnesota traded away an absolute fan-favorite to get him during the offseason – and as said fan-favorite went on to evolve into perhaps the best hitter in the majors this season. But it wasn’t always like that: López had four absolutely solid starts to open the season before beginning to struggle and having more than a handful of rough outings since.

The Royals are on both sides of those versions of López this season. On Opening Day, the Venezuelan ace pitched into the sixth, allowing no runs and only a pair of hits. However, roughly a month later, he faced that same Kansas City lineup and ended up allowing six runs on eight hits, causing his ERA to increase by a full run. June has been a tough month for López, one in which he finished with a 4.46 ERA, so facing a last-placed Royals team could be a good opportunity for López to get a fresh start going into the second half of the season – as it was on Opening Day.

López tossed a scoreless first despite giving up a two-out double, and he got some immediate run support. Édouard Julien smacked a solo home run to right for his sixth of the year to put the Twins on the board. After a scoreless second, two more runs scored in the third: Ryan Jeffers hit a leadoff single, and Carlos Correa drew a walk next. Kansas City’s starter Alec Marsh struck out the next two batters, but then things got weird for the visitors. Alex Kirilloff lined a long single to left, and outfielder MJ Melendez made a throwing error trying to get Jeffers at home. The ball hit Jeffers on the neck and got away from Salvador Pérez, allowing Correa to score as well and Kirilloff to reach third.

López gave up two-out hits in each of the first three innings of this game, but he settled down nicely after that by throwing three consecutive 1-2-3 innings, which included six consecutive strikeouts between the fifth and the sixth. Granted, his final strikeout of the sixth was a massive mistake by Phil Cuzzi, but that didn’t stain López’s brilliance. At the end of six, his pitch count hadn’t even reached 75 yet, and he had struck out opponents a season-high 11 times. He came back to the seventh and delivered yet another 1-2-3 inning, striking out Nick Pratto on a full count to end it and establish a new career-high of 12 punch outs in a game. This was the fifth time López has completed seven in a start, the first one since June 7, and the first time he did so in shutout fashion.

With only 87 pitches thrown after seven, many wondered if López would be brought back to the eighth. If he were going to return to the mound, some more run support would go a long way for him. However, the offense went ice cold after that RBI single from Kirilloff in the third, going 0-for-10 with three walks afterward. Willi Castro and Joey Gallo got retired quickly in the bottom of the seventh, making it look like no more runs were coming. But Jeffers had other plans, and he crushed a 426-feet bomb to deep center to make it 4-0 Minnesota.

López came back to pitch the eighth, and he got two quick outs on only two pitches, inducing two flyball outs. Kyle Isbel doubled off him to get the Royals’ first hit since the third. Matt Duffy hit the ball hard next, but Max Kepler made a fantastic diving catch to rob him of a hit and finish the inning. At only 94 pitches, López would have the chance to come back and try to complete the game. So the offense decided to give him even more run support in the bottom of the eighth. Byron Buxton drew a leadoff walk, and with two outs, Donovan Solano doubled to bring him home, making it 5-0 Minnesota. Even though he’s struggled several times this season, López has enjoyed a ton of run support overall.

Back out for the ninth, López’s command was a little off in the first two pitches, but all it took next was four pitches for him to retire the side, shut down the Royals for the night, and secure his first career complete-game shutout. The Twins are back to two games above .500 (45-43), a game and a half ahead of the Cleveland Guardians.

Postgame interview

What’s Next?
The Twins have a day off on Thursday before resuming their homestand on Friday (7/7). The Baltimore Orioles come to town, and the two teams face off in a three-game series over the weekend. Game one, scheduled for 7:10 pm CDT on Friday, features Bailey Ober (5-4, 2.70 ERA) on the mound for Minnesota, while Cole Irvin (1-3, 6.32 ERA) starts for Baltimore.

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