Michael Massey's late home run propels Royals to series victory over Twins

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Aug 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey made an uncharacteristic defensive blunder Wednesday night.

In the fourth inning, Massey got caught in between while fielding a groundball from Twins outfielder Kody Clemens. As Twins designated hitter Josh Bell, who walked to begin the frame, barreled toward second base, Massey attempted to tag him in the basepaths.

However, Bell started to retreat to first base and forced Massey to make a late throw to first baseman Jac Caglianone.

Clemens beat the throw to the bag. And Bell reached second base safely.

The Twins ultimately took advantage. Second baseman Royce Lewis laid down a well-placed bunt single to load the bases. Victor Caratini grounded into a double play as Bell scored from third base.

The run snapped Royals starter Noah Cameron’s scoreless streak. The left-hander reached 18 innings without giving up a run.

So Massey had to atone for his mistake. In the fifth inning, he singled and scored on Kyle Isbel’s sacrifice fly. And later, he belted the go-ahead solo home run as the Royals won, 2-1, at Kauffman Stadium.

Massey grooved an 89.8-mph cutter from Twins reliever AJ Minter over the right-field wall. The blast traveled 422 feet as the Royals took a late lead.

It was Massey’s ninth home run of the season. And more importantly, it gave Cameron a chance to win his sixth game of the year.

Cameron was excellent once again. He allowed one run across eight innings against the Twins. He also tied his career-high with nine strikeouts.

In his last three starts, Cameron has called his own pitches. He worked in tandem with Royals catcher Salvador Perez to shut down the Twins’ offense. Cameron induced 58 swings and 17 whiffs, per Baseball Savant.

The Royals did just enough to win. Steven Cruz picked up the save in the ninth inning as the club won the series outright.

Twins starter Dean Kremer earned a no-decision. He allowed one run in five innings during his first outing with the club.

Minnesota (56-59) has lost eight of 12 games against the Royals this season.

What’s next?

The Royals will start right-hander Michael Wacha (5-8, 3.51 ERA) on Thursday night against the Twins. He will oppose right-hander Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.45 ERA) with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. Central.