Twins let four home runs go to waste in 8-6 loss to Royals

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins scored one run in each of the first six innings during their series opener against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, but they couldn’t outhit all their other mistakes.

Their pitchers issued six walks. They allowed runs on a wild pitch, a late tag from catcher Victor Caratini on a play at the plate and a dropped pop-up between second baseman Luke Keaschall and shortstop Ryan Kreidler.

Playing around a rain delay in the sixth inning, the Twins were sloppier than the last-place team in the American League Central Division in an 8-6 loss at Target Field. The loss spoiled a two-homer game from Kody Clemens, and the Twins hit four home runs in all.

The Twins have lost seven of their last nine games.

With the score tied in the ninth inning, Twins reliever Taylor Rogers gave up singles to Salvador Perez and pinch-hitter Lane Thomas. Rogers excited after a successful sacrifice bunt, which brought Justin Lawrence to the mound for his second appearance with his new team.

Lawrence walked Maikel García, then gave up a go-ahead, two-run single up the middle to pinch-hitter Josh Rojas as he threw a fastball in a 3-1 count.

The Twins entered the sixth inning with a two-run lead and that’s when the miscues piled up. Mike Paredes, who pitched behind opener Andrew Morris in a bullpen game, started the sixth with a leadoff walk to Isaac Collins and he gave up a two-out single to Kyle Isbel.

Anthony Banda replaced Paredes to face the top of the Royals lineup, needing only one out. Carter Jensen, in a lefty-on-lefty matchup, slashed a sinker down the third base line for a tying two-run double. Collins scored easily, but Trevor Larnach’s throw from left field beat Isbel to the plate by 10 feet. Caratini, however, tagged Isbel on the shoulder after Isbel’s arm touched the plate through a headfirst slide.

Bobby Witt Jr., the next batter, hit a pop-up behind second base. Keaschall and Kreidler both signaled they were calling for the ball, then they bumped into each other. The ball dropped and Jensen scored a go-ahead run.

There was a 67-minute rain delay after the embarrassing half-inning, but Carataini made up for his poor tag when he hit a tying home run off reliever John Schreiber with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Twins scored one run in each of the first six innings. Byron Buxton smacked a solo homer on Seth Lugo’s third pitch of the evening, drilling a sinker that didn’t sink into the left-field seats. It was Buxton’s team-leading 18th homer of the season and his fifth leadoff home run.

Caratini hit an RBI double in the second inning. Clemens hit the first of his two homers in the third, connecting on a first-pitch curveball from Lugo. Kreidler was credited with an RBI triple in the fourth, the first triple of his career, on a ball that got past Collins in the left-center gap.

Clemens, who as the first baseman threw out a runner at the plate in the second inning and made a tumbling catch in foul territory in the third, crushed another homer in the fifth when he deposited a low-and-inside sweeper from Lugo over the right-field wall. Clemens has four homers over his past nine games.