There were only 13,847 fans in attendance, and the empty seats certainly caught Yost's eye. 'I don't think anybody saw that coming,' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, 'a bloop and a blast and a big walk-off for them.' Those missed chances proved to be important when the ninth inning rolled around. Eduardo Escobar was stranded at second base in the sixth.

Trevor Plouffe grounded into inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth, and Danny Santana was picked off first base in the fourth. The Twins also had opportunities to push across an early run. Christian Colon was left standing on second in the third inning, and Jarrod Dyson was picked off first base in the sixth.ĭyson was also picked off first base in Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Yankees. The Royals had several chances to push a run across much earlier - and with much less drama.īilly Butler was hit by pitches from Nolasco on two occasions, and the first time - in the second inning - he advanced to third before getting stranded. The left-hander allowed four hits and a pair of walks over 6 2-3 innings, but was in line for the loss after giving up a double to Brian Dozier and a slicing single to Joe Mauer to start the seventh.

Wade Davis (7-2) earned the win with a perfect ninth inning in relief.ĭanny Duffy was nearly as sharp for the Royals as Nolasco was for Minnesota. 'He and the team don't have anything to show for it. I feel bad for him because he pitched seven shutout innings and threw the ball well,' Perkins said. But after going quietly in the eighth, they managed to break through against Perkins (3-1), who had converted 18 consecutive saves on the road. The Royals had been shut down all night by Ricky Nolasco, who scattered three hits over seven innings. 'Really didn't have any offense going all night and was able to muster up something, so that was great.' 'Got a slider over the plate and put a good swing on it,' Gordon said.

Sounds like a pretty good plan.''Īlcides Escobar led off with a blooper to shallow right for a single, and Alex Gordon swatted the second pitch he saw over the right-field wall to give the AL Central-leading Royals a dramatic 2-1 victory over Minnesota - and help them avoid their first three-game skid since mid-July. 'The bat boy who never says anything turns around and says, 'Esky is going to get a hit and Gordo's taking him in the fountain,'' Yost said. The Royals were trailing the Twins by a run in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and Kansas City manager Ned Yost was on the top step of the dugout, conferring with catching coach Pedro Grifol about the potential decisions he would have to make.

Alex gordon game 2 hit