MINNEAPOLIS – Simeon Woods Richardson picked up his first win in eight starts, Jose Miranda drove in two runs and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Minnesota, winners of six of the last seven games, got two hits each from Manuel Margot, Byron Buxton and Carlos Santana.
Jhoan Duran allowed the first two batters he faced in the ninth to reach base, but helped by Christian Vazquez throwing out a runner trying to steal second, he didn’t allow a run and picked up his ninth save.
Kansas City tied a season-low with five hits, losing its third in a row after winning eight in a row. The Royals have lost 15 of their last 16 at Target Field.
Woods Richardson (2-0) allowed three hits and struck out four in five innings for his first win since April 13.
He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his last eight starts, and only once has received more than two runs in support. His 2.70 ERA is third among rookies with at least 35 innings pitched, behind the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga (0.84) and the Yankees’ Luis Gil (2.11).
After going through four innings, Woods Richardson ran into trouble in the fifth. Nick Loftin walked, advanced to third on Hunter Renfroe’s double and scored on Garrett Hampson’s single. Kyle Isbel’s groundout scored Renfroe to make it 3-2.
Cole Ragans (4-4), who had a no-hitter in the sixth inning last Wednesday, struggled early for Kansas City but made it through five innings. He allowed nine hits and struck out seven.
The lefty gave up hits to Minnesota’s first two hitters: Margot singled and Carlos Correa doubled. Both scored on Miranda’s single to end Ragans’ 13-inning scoreless streak.
Back-to-back doubles from Vázquez and Margot made it 3-0 in the fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino left the game in the third inning with a left leg contusion after extending himself fully to catch a high pitch from 3B Maikel Garcia. It is considered on a daily basis.
Twins: To make room on the 40-man roster for RHP Diego Castillo, whose contract he selected from Triple-A St. Paul, RHP Justin Toba was moved to the 60-day injured list. He has been out since March 25 with left patellar tendonitis.
NEXT
RHP Seth Lugo (8-1, 1.74), who leads the American League in wins and all of baseball in ERA among qualified players, is scheduled to start Wednesday in Kansas City. He is scheduled to face RHP Bailey Ober (5-2, 4.33).
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