Twins top Royals, 8-3, but see Byron Buxton exit game

MINNEAPOLIS — The last time Royce Lewis played in a game against the Kansas City Royals, the lasting image was him limping off the field after running from first to third base in an opening day win.

On Monday, it was a different image: Lewis backpedaling out of the batter’s box and flipping his bat after a two-run homer to complete a six-run rally in the second inning at Target Field. The Twins picked up an 8-3 victory over a Royals team on their heels in the American League Central and wild-card standings.

The victory, however, didn’t come without a cost. Byron Buxton exited after striking out in the fifth inning with right hip discomfort, the team announced. Buxton walked straight to the clubhouse tunnel without taking off his helmet or dropping his bat.

Buxton missed three games with back tightness last week, and the offense is already missing Carlos Correa and Brooks Lee because of injuries.

The Twins, who own a 6-2 record against Kansas City this year, have won 17 of their last 19 games versus their division rival at Target Field since 2022. Pablo López contributed a solid start, yielding three runs (two earned) in six innings.

It was a two-out rally in the second inning that flipped the game, which started with a five-pitch walk to Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers hit a two-strike slider, located off the outside corner of the plate, through the middle of the infield for a single.

Austin Martin lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Santana from second base, and the baserunning aggressiveness was rewarded as Royals right fielder Hunter Renfroe made a noncompetitive throw to the infield. Four pitches later, Willi Castro gave the Twins their first lead of the night with a three-run homer to right-center field.

Castro, sprinting around the bases, dislodged his helmet with how hard he clapped when he saw the ball clear the wall. It was his ninth home run of the season, matching his single-season career high.

After Trevor Larnach extended the rally with a ground-ball single up the middle, Lewis battled in an eight-pitch at-bat with Royals starter Brady Singer. Lewis fouled four consecutive pitches, shattering one of his bats when he tipped one slider, before he hammered an elevated sinker to the facing of the second deck in left field.

Lewis backpedaled out of the batter’s box for three steps to watch his handiwork and he flipped his bat to start his home run trot. Once he returned to the dugout, he almost ran through the line of high-fives out of excitement.

Six straight batters reached base with two outs, and they all scored. Singer slammed his glove and hat on the dugout bench in frustration after ending the inning.

The Twins added onto their lead in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a fielding error from Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. With two runners on base and none out, Matt Wallner lined a first-pitch splitter into right field for an RBI single. Manuel Margot, who replaced an injured Buxton, drove in another run on the next pitch with a sacrifice fly to center.

Kansas City had an early 2-0 lead. Witt, who has been the hottest hitter in the majors since the All-Star break, crushed a hanging slider over the left-field wall for a solo homer in the first inning. Witt has reached base 50 times in his last 99 plate appearances.

López’s second inning started with a catcher’s interference call on a 1-2 pitch. With two outs, he surrendered back-to-back singles to the bottom two hitters in the Royals lineup, including an RBI hit to Kyle Isbel.

Once the Twins handed López the lead, he retired seven consecutive batters.