Kansas City Royals rout Minnesota Twins 7-3 at Kauffman Stadium – MLB Update
Kansas City Royals comprehensively beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday, July 21 in second game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Centre-fielder Lorenzo Cain provided the Royals with early momentum with a single to centre. Yuniesky Betancourt also made the most of available opportunities, earning an RBI single to centre in the second and Mike Moustakas scored to extend Kansas City’s
lead 2-0.
The Twins fought back superbly in the fourth. Ben Revere and Josh Willingham scored to level it 2-2 and the game entered a very interesting phase. Cain continued to impress the skipper Ned Yost with his top quality hitting skills. Driving in crucial runs
in closing stages of the game, he helped the Royals stay ahead of their opponents.
"That's one of the main reasons we made the Melky Cabrera trade (to San Francisco) because we felt like Cain was ready to contribute," Yost commented on Cain. "He is showing now exactly what we were thinking he would be capable of doing if he was healthy
all year long. It's a nice shot in the arm to have him in the lineup.”
Starting pitcher Luis Mendoza grabbed his fourth win of the season, after he gave up seven hits and three runs in six plus innings.
"He pitched into the seventh inning, did a great job again, executed his pitches," Yost said. "He battled a little bit up in the zone, but was always able to make the adjustment."
After prevailing 2-1 in a nail biting encounter in the series’ opener, the Twins were hoping to take a decisive 2-0 series lead on Saturday evening but that did not turn out to be the case. For once, the Royals used their home conditions extremely effectively
to keep the series alive.
Credit should be given to the bullpen for creating all sorts of problems for the Twins’ hitters. The Royals, who are placed fourth on the American League Central Division standings, will be looking to put up another powerful show in the finale to restore
some of their lost pride.
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