04/02/26 04:14:00
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04/02 16:12 CDT Taj Bradley tosses 6 shutout innings, Minnesota homers 3 times
in the 9th in a 5-1 win over KC
Taj Bradley tosses 6 shutout innings, Minnesota homers 3 times in the 9th in a
5-1 win over KC
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Taj Bradley pitched six innings of five-hit ball,
Minnesota homered three times in the ninth inning to break open a close game,
and the Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Thursday to avoid a three-game
series sweep.
Bradley (1-0) struck out three and walked one while out-dueling Cole Ragans
(0-2), helping the Twins improve to 2-0 with him on the mound. Minnesota was
winless in its other four games on a season-opening six-game trip through
Baltimore and Kansas City.
Kody Clemens scored on an error by five-time Gold Glove-winning catcher
Salvador Perez in the second, and Byron Buxton added a sacrifice fly off John
Schreiber in the eighth, before the Twins teed off against Royals reliever
Steven Cruz in the ninth.
Matt Wallner began the barrage with his homer to left, Clemens followed two
batters late with his first of the season, and Josh Bell gave the Twins their
first back-to-back homers since last July with his shot off Cruz to right field.
The only offense for Kansas City came in the eighth, when Maikel Garcia and
Bobby Witt Jr. put runners on the corners with back-to-back singles, and Vinnie
Pasquantino hit a sacrifice fly. But after Perez grounded into a fielder's
choice, Twins reliever Taylor Rogers struck out Jac Caglianone with a sweeper
out of the zone to leave the tying run on second base.
The meager offense came one a day after the Royals piled up 13 runs in a win
over the Twins.
Ragans bounced back nicely from a dismal opening day in Atlanta, when the 2024
All-Star surrendered three homers in a 6-0 loss to the Braves. The Royals'
left-hander went six innings and allowed four hits and a walk while striking
out eight.
Up next
The Twins play their home opener Friday night against Tampa Bay with RHP Bailey
Ober (0-0, 6.75 ERA) on the mound. Kansas City continues its homestand against
Milwaukee with RHP Michael Wacha (0-0, 0.00) getting the start.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
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