Three Takeaways From the Royals' 6-3 Win Over the Twins
The Kansas City Royals earned a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins to claim the series victory and end their six-game road trip on the right note.
Kansas City got RBIs from Whit Merrifield and Salvador Perez and two RBIs each from Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Dozier.
The Royals will now head home to Kauffman Stadium for a six-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Here are three things to take away from today's game.
Kansas City has got to cut down on the walks.
Royals pitchers had a hard time keeping Twins hitters off the basepaths this afternoon. The unit allowed seven walks on the day. Most of the sticky situations Kansas City pitchers found themselves in were self-inflicted. While the Royals were still able to avoid a disastrous inning, not every team will struggle to put the ball in play like the Twins. Cutting down on the walks will be crucial for all Kansas City pitchers, starters or relievers, for the Royals to climb back into playoff contention.
Scott Barlow continues to be the Royals' best reliever.
Scott Barlow showed once again why he's the best guy out of the bullpen in his 1 2/3 innings pitched this afternoon. Barlow recorded four strikeouts and one walk in his outing. It wasn't just his numbers that made his outing so exciting, it was his stuff. The 28-year-old had movement on all of his pitches and was able to mix up his sequences to keep the hitters guessing. The Twins were showing great plate discipline but Barlow was able to get some guys to chase for big outs.
The Royals needed this win.
With the victory, Kansas City was able to finish their road trip 3-3. As the Royals are trying to get back to the .500 mark, beating teams below them in the standings is paramount. They had a tough time against the Tampa Bay Rays but were able to rebound against the Twins. The next six games at Kauffman Stadium will be against teams who are in the bottom half of the league in terms of wins. Having a .500 homestand is crucial but having a winning record during this stretch is necessary if the Royals want to put themselves in striking position.
