Twins’ comeback win over Royals snaps 4-game skid, gains ground in AL Central

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After their hard-hit contact seemed to find Kansas City Royals gloves all series, it was only fitting that Brooks Lee’s squeaker made the difference for the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

Stymied by the Royals yet again, the Twins rallied for their third comeback victory in the past 10 days over their interdivisional foes. Lee’s two-run single in the eighth inning capped a 4-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, one that snapped a four-game Twins losing streak.

Even though the Twins narrowly avoided a series sweep, they still managed to gain ground in the American League Central after the New York Mets swept the Cleveland Guardians and the Boston Red Sox did the same to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins, who are only a half-game back in the AL wild-card race, are tied for second place in the division with Cleveland, three back of Chicago.

“That’s this fricking game,” Lee said. “It’s going to beat you down. I feel like it’s been beating us down, but luckily, we scraped away with a win. We were smoking balls all over the place. They keep getting f—ing caught, which is brutal. I’m glad we got it.”

In two of three games in the series, the Twins finished with a higher expected batting average than Kansas City, but the team’s hard-hit contact didn’t translate into runs.

Whether the Royals did an outstanding job with their positioning, or in Bobby Witt Jr.’s case, turned a critical double play in a one-run game Wednesday, the Twins couldn’t get much offense going.

“Stifled is the good word,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said.

As a whole, the series was representative of what the Twins have endured offensively since the All-Star break. Through Wednesday, the Twins scored three runs or fewer in 11 of 18 games since returning and only 64 overall. Some of that can be attributed to facing good pitching in Cleveland and Seattle or going up against a team that’s seemingly had their number all year in Kansas City. The absence of Byron Buxton undoubtedly is playing a role, too.

But simply put, the Twins haven’t been able to escape a rut.

Early Thursday, it seemed like more of the same.

Royce Lewis lined out to deep center in his first at-bat, and Lee followed by ripping a 103 mph liner Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone caught and converted into an easy-inning double play.

Lewis alone hit balls with exit velocities of 106.1 mph, 108.2 and 108.2. All three went for outs, and the Twins finished 3-for-11 on hard-hit balls. Though the frustration continued, Shelton sensed his club might be in for a rally.

“There was more momentum instead of just being completely shut down with no base runners,” Shelton said. “We had base runners.”

Finally, the base runners turned into runs in the eighth.

By working counts and good at-bats, the Twins forced Royals starter Michael Wacha out of the game after 5 2/3 innings. The move paid dividends two innings later when the Twins, who trailed 3-1, broke through against lefty Aaron Bummer.

Luke Keaschall started the winning rally with a one-out single to right, and pinch hitter Ryan Jeffers followed with a nine-pitch walk. Down 1-2 in the count, Josh Bell singled to right on a hanging sweeper to get the Twins within a run. New pitcher Nate Pearson then hit Lewis, who homered in the fifth to break up Wacha’s shutout, to load the bases.

Great hit from Brooks!! pic.twitter.com/IIJQPG5JMH

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 7, 2026

Lee got ahead of Pearson 2-1 in the count and got enough of a 96 mph sinker to sneak it through the right side for the winning hit.

“We grinded out at-bats against Wacha,” Lewis said. “To get him out early like that, it helps. … It’s been nice to see that the at-bats haven’t necessarily changed, just the results. That’s always welcoming. Because if you see guys starting to press or do something different, then you know it’s going to be a lot longer than just a couple days.”

Here are more Twins thoughts after another frustration-filled series against Kansas City.

• Joe Ryan is headed to the 15-day injured list Friday with a mild left glute strain, Shelton said. Ryan returned to Minneapolis on Wednesday and underwent an MRI on Thursday, one that left the Twins feeling a bit relieved.

“Encouraging that it’s nothing serious,” Shelton said. “I think we’re just going to have to wait and see. … The easiest way to put it is, there was discomfort in his delivery. He felt he couldn’t replicate his delivery.”

The Twins will replace Ryan in the rotation with Zebby Matthews, who was scratched from making a start for Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday. Matthews will join the Twins in Milwaukee and face the Brewers in the series opener Friday. Taj Bradley pitches Saturday, and Connor Prielipp goes Sunday.

• Buxton’s recovery isn’t progressing as fast as he’d prefer, but he’s beginning to see it gain speed. For now, the three-time All-Star isn’t performing any baseball activities after he was placed on the 10-day IL July 29.

Buxton said his focus is “isometrics, loading, weight room” and supporting his teammates, a key reason he made the three-city, nine-game trip even though he isn’t likely to return from the IL.

“It’s a little slower than what I expected, but I’m starting to pick it up,” Buxton said. “It’s trusting (the athletic training staff). That goes a long ways as well, them trusting me with the last few times to try and go out and see if it would be fine. It didn’t work out in that way. It’s taking that page out of the book and following their protocols of what needs to be done. But also, I’m definitely itching to get back.”

• Shelton doesn’t find it comforting that the Twins didn’t lose any ground to Cleveland or Chicago over the first two games of the series. He sees it as missed opportunities to edge closer to the team’s divisional foes.

“That’s actually more frustrating,” Shelton said.

Bell said the team recognizes and is playing with urgency. Thus far, it hasn’t been able to convert.

“We need every last win,” Bell said. “We know the importance of these games. It’s not a panic. It’s just a realization that we know our offense is going to get hot. It’s just a matter of when.”

• One of the first conversations Shelton had after the team acquired Jeff Hoffman was with unofficial closer Yoendrys Gómez. Though Hoffman will undoubtedly see a save opportunity with the Twins, Shelton wanted to reassure Gómez that he plans to use him in the ninth inning if the pitcher is fresh. On Thursday, Gómez received his first chance to convert a save since Hoffman was acquired Monday and pitched a scoreless inning, working around a leadoff walk with a pickoff.

“I’m thankful and grateful to stay in the ninth inning,” Gómez said through an interpreter. “But overall, I’m just grateful for the opportunity and those conversations and just to keep giving me the confidence to go out there. … It’s very important and good to see the new additions to the bullpen. Good arms, high-leverage arms, and it’s all in the name of helping the team win games.”