Three Things to Take Away From the Royals' 8-3 Win Over Minnesota
Thanks to an offensive explosion, the Kansas City Royals were able to jump all over the Minnesota Twins for an 8-3 victory in Game 1 against their American League Central rivals.
Kansas City came into the game scoring eight runs in their last four games, as they equal that total tonight. The Royals were able to get runs in bulk in the fifth and seventh innings to help propel Kansas City to the win.
The win puts Kansas City at 24-25 on the year while the loss moves Minnesota to 20-30 and ends their three-game winning streak.
Here are three takeaways from the Royals' first game at Target Field this series.
Someone woke the bats up.
Following a series against the Tampa Bay Rays where the Royals only scored five runs, Kansas City was able to get five across the plate in the seventh inning. It wasn't only about how many runs the Royals drove in, but who drove them in. For the first time in a month, designated hitter Jorge Soler recorded a multi-hit game. Right fielder Hunter Dozier was able to snap an 0-for-32 streak he was on. Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi was also able to get in on the hit party as he went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Kansas City sent 10 to the plate in the top of the seventh. It felt good to see the bats working and the line moving again.
Kris Bubic continues to be brilliant.
Kris Bubic had quite the outing against the Twins as he earned his first win of 2021. The 23-year-old threw six strong innings as he racked up five strikeouts. Bubic allowed one run on four hits and two walks. In his three starts this season, the 6-foot-3 lefty has allowed three runs on 11 hits and has struck out 12 and walked seven in 17 innings pitched. Despite today's performance, Bubic's ERA went up to 1.59. I'm not sure if this pace is sustainable for Bubic, but he's been a breath of fresh air in the starting rotation.
The one "ugly inning" could've been
Thanks to a diving play by third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, the Royals were able to get out of the bottom of the seventh inning with little done to the scoreboard. After Bubic left the game, Tyler Zuber came to the game and struggled with his command, walking the bases loaded after getting the first out of the inning. Kyle Zimmer was called on in relief and after giving up a deep single that drove in one and a wild pitch that drove in another, Zimmer was able to get out of the jam. Game after game, it's looking like Zimmer has found his niche coming out of the bullpen.
