Trevor Plouffe helps Minnesota Twins edge Kansas City Royals 4-3 – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins managed to avoid a humiliating series sweep against the Kansas City Royals as they secured a narrow 4-3 win at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday, September 13 in the finale of their three match series.
Luis Mendoza pitched with great control and accuracy, allowing just one run in six solid innings but the Royals just could not score enough runs on Thursday.
Salvador Perez, who looked in top form in Game 2, provided Royals with an excellent start as he singled to centre in the first inning. Billy Butler added double to deep centre in the fifth to stretch Royals’ lead to 3-1 but the Twins were not prepared to
give up.
Josh Willingham drove in crucial runs, Trevor Plouffe smacked a mighty home-run and Denard Span delivered the tie breaking single in the tenth inning.
"We could have done more to get a more comfortable lead," said left fielder Alex Gordon. "Our bullpen has been lights out this year, and it's going to happen once in a while."
"You don't want to lose a game like that," said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. "They beat our best."
"The angles are way different at third base. You've got to drop-step for a lot of those balls, especially the ones that are hit hard and at shortstop-second base you're taught to come in and get the ball," Plouffe said. "I just got to keep working."
Twins’ starter Liam Hendriks played a key role in deciding the outcome of the clash as he gave up just three runs in five plus innings. Using his sliders and curveballs very effectively, the right hander created all sorts of problems for the inform Royals’
batting line-up.
Relief pitchers Tyler Robertson, Casey Fien and Jared combined to toss up three scoreless innings to keep Royals on the defensive. Closer Glen Perkins showed nerves of steel as he pitched two scoreless innings under pressure to grab his third win of the
season.
Manager Ron Gardenhire will be extremely happy with what he saw from the Twins’ pitchers. The skipper will be expecting the rotation to continue their good work to help the Twins end the season on a bright note.
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