Royals 7, Twins 4
Billy Butler and Salvador Perez highlighted a five-run first inning with RBI doubles as host Kansas City overcame a steady rain and defeated Minnesota.
Alcides Escobar went 3-for-4 while Alex Gordon and Butler each finished 2-for-4 and combined to score three runs. Jeremy Guthrie (2-0) won despite yielding a career high-tying three home runs while Greg Holland worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth by striking out Joe Mauer to collect his second save.
Mike Pelfrey (1-1) was roughed up for six runs and eight hits over two frames – his shortest start since giving up six runs over two innings on April 6, 2011, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Once Mauer staked the Twins to an early lead with a first-inning solo home run, the Royals’ first five batters all recorded a hit. Gordon and Escobar each reached on a single before Butler’s RBI double knotted the game.
Mike Moustakas and Perez each plated a run with a single and double, respectively, and Lorenzo Cain’s two-out single one batter later completed the first-inning scoring. That gave Kansas City plenty of cushion to survive solo shots by Josh Willingham in the third and Eduardo Escobar in the fifth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Only No. 9 hitter Chris Getz failed to record a hit for Kansas City. … Minnesota scored first for the second straight game after its opponents crossed the plate first in each of its first six games. … Holland ended the Royals three-game streak of having a different pitcher earning the save.