Royals put on offensive show in win over Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kendrys Morales and Eric Hosmer homered and the Kansas City Royals pounded out 16 hits in an 11-5 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday afternoon at Target Field.
Morales' three-run shot in the fifth inning was his 23rd of the season and gave Kansas City the lead after a pair of Brian Dozier home runs staked the Twins to an early lead.
Hosmer's three-run blast in the eighth punctuated a four-run eighth inning that put the game out of reach. The Kansas City first baseman has now homered in three of his last five games.
Every player in the Royals lineup had at least one hit and six had at least two hits.
Dozier remained red-hot, hitting the first pitch he saw from Ian Kennedy over the left-field fence for his 36th home run. Two innings later, No. 37 went into the second deck in left.
The slugging second baseman added his 38th in the bottom of the eighth inning for his third homer of the day, becoming the sixth player in team history to hit three home runs in a single game.
Dozier became the first Twin since Harmon Killebrew in 1970 to surpass 35 home runs in a single season. He now has 10 home runs against Kansas City this season, two more than any other Royals opponent in franchise history.
Kennedy (10-9) earned the victory despite allowing four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings pitched, walking two and striking out six.
Dozier’s homer in the first gave Minnesota a quick lead but Kansas City fought back for a pair of runs off Twins starter Jose Berrios in the second on run-scoring hits by Alex Gordon and Alcides Escobar. The double by Escobar extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Dozier hit a two-run shot in the third and Eduardo Escobar's sacrifice bunt scored Eddie Rosario from second when nobody covered home plate, pushing the Twins lead to 4-2.
Berrios looked like he would get through the fifth, giving up a leadoff single before coaxing a fielder’s choice ground out and striking out Paulo Orlando, but the rookie right hander walked Hosmer to keep the inning alive, setting up Morales’ massive shot to the concourse beyond the right-field fence.
Hosmer's sacrifice fly and Salvador Perez's RBI single accounted for two more runs in the seventh before Orlando’s sac fly and Hosmer's homer in the eighth.
Berrios (2-5) took the loss after giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings.
NOTES: Royals OF Lorenzo Cain missed his fifth consecutive game with a sore wrist and hand. Cain remains day-to-day and could start as soon as Tuesday. ... Twins RHP Jose Berrios was recalled from Triple-A Rochester in time to make the start on Monday. Berrios had a 9.24 ERA over 37 innings pitched in two previous stints with Minnesota. ... The Royals and Twins will play the second of a three-game series on Tuesday night at Target Field. Kansas City will send RHP Dillon Gee to the mound against Minnesota RHP Ervin Santana.