Simeon Woods Richardson earned 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 their last seven games, got two hits apiece from Manuel Margot, Byron Buxton and Carlos Santana.
Jhoan Duran allowed the first two hitters 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 earned his ninth save.
Kansas City tied a season-low with five hits to lose its third straight after winning eight in a row. The Royals have dropped 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 allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his past eight starts, and only once did he receive more than two runs of support. His 2.70 ERA is third among rookies with at least 35 innings pitched, trailing Shota Imanaga of the Cubs (0.84) and Luis Gil of the Yankees (2.11).
After cruising through four innings, Woods Richardson found 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 plated Renfroe to make it 3-2.
Cole Ragans (4-4), who took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning last Wednesday, struggled early for Kansas City but got through five innings. He allowed nine hits and struck out seven.
The left-hander gave up hits to Minnesota’s first two batters: Margot singled and Carlos Correa doubled. Both scored on Miranda’s single to end Ragans’ 13-inning scoreless streak.
Back-to-back doubles by Vazquez 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 lower left leg contusion after fully extending to catch a high throw from 3B Maikel Garcia. He is considered day to day.
Twins: To make room on the 40-man roster for RHP Diego Castillo, whose contract was selected from Triple-A St. Paul, RHP Justin Toba was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’s been out since March 25 with left patellar tendinitis.
UP 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 for Kansas City. He’s scheduled to face RHP Bailey Ober (5-2, 4.33).
