KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins broke open a tight game with three runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Minnesota’s Taj Bradley and Kansas City’s Cole Ragans dueled through six scoreless innings. Bradley allowed five hits and struck out three for the win. Ragans took the loss despite eight strikeouts and no earned runs over six frames. The Twins led 1-0 before adding a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly. Kansas City answered in the bottom half on Vinnie Pasquantino’s sac fly. Minnesota then pulled away in the ninth, keyed by solo homers from Kody Clemens and Josh Bell. Attendance was 11,694. The game took 2 hours, 55 minutes. The Twins improved to 2-4, while the Royals fell to 3-3.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — In a game dominated by starting pitching and defined by a late offensive eruption, the Minnesota Twins broke open a scoreless duel with a five-run surge over the final two innings to defeat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Thursday evening at Kauffman Stadium. A crowd of 11,694 watched as the Twins, who had dropped the first two games of this series and four of their first five overall, rallied to salvage the finale and even their record at 2-4. The Royals fell to 3-3. The most important part of the game was the Twins’ three-homer barrage in the top of the ninth inning, which transformed a tense one-run contest into a decisive victory. That offensive outburst, however, was only possible because of six shutout innings from Twins starter Taj Bradley, which matched the zeros posted by Royals ace Cole Ragans through the first half of the game. For six innings, Ragans was nearly untouchable. The Royals’ left-hander held the Twins to four scattered hits, striking out eight and walking none. He expertly worked around a pair of singles in the second and a leadoff single in the fourth, inducing a double play to erase the latter threat. His performance continued a dominant start to the season, though he was let down by a lack of run support and a faltering bullpen. Bradley, earning his first win of the season, was equally effective for Minnesota. He scattered five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out three. He navigated his biggest jam in the fourth, when the Royals loaded the bases with two outs on singles by Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone and an infield hit by Isaac Collins. Bradley escaped by getting Lane Thomas to swing through a strike three. The game remained a tense, scoreless stalemate until the Twins broke through in the eighth against Royals reliever John Schreiber. Josh Bell worked a leadoff walk and Royce Lewis followed with a double to left, putting runners at second and third with no outs. After a strikeout, Schreiber intentionally walked Trevor Larnach to load the bases. Byron Buxton then delivered a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Bell to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Kansas City answered immediately in the bottom half against Twins reliever Kody Funderburk. Maikel Garcia led off with a single and scored on Bobby Witt Jr.’s line-drive single to right, with Witt advancing to second on the throw home. A sacrifice fly by Vinnie Pasquantino brought Garcia home, tying the game at 1-1. The Royals threatened for more, but a successful Twins challenge upheld a force out at second, and Funderburk struck out Caglianone to end the inning with the score tied. The deadlock was short-lived. Leading off the ninth against Schreiber, Matt Wallner launched a line-drive home run to left-center field, restoring Minnesota’s lead at 2-1. Two batters later, Kody Clemens connected for a solo shot to left field. Before the crowd had settled, Josh Bell followed with a towering homer to right field, marking the Twins’ third consecutive home run and pushing the lead to 4-1. The back-to-back-to-back homers blew the game open, and the Twins would add another run later in the inning on a series of productive outs. Armed with a four-run cushion, Minnesota’s bullpen closed the door. Justin Topa worked a scoreless eighth, and after the Royals put two on with no outs in the ninth via an error and a walk, Taylor Rogers induced a crucial 6-4-3 double play from Lane Thomas before striking out Kyle Isbel to end the game. Bradley (1-0) was credited with the win, while Ragans (0-2) took a hard-luck loss despite his stellar outing. The Twins’ bullpen combination of Funderburk, Topa, and Rogers provided three innings of one-run relief, allowing just two hits. The victory halted a two-game skid for the Twins against their division rivals, who had outscored them 16-10 in the first two games of the series. The result also defied pregame projections, as National Statistical’s game simulator had forecast a 6-3 Royals victory, and its ELO system gave Kansas City a 61.5% probability to win. Minnesota returns home to begin a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Kansas City continues its homestand with a three-game weekend set against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Preview: Twins at Royals, Thursday, April 2, 2026 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Kansas City Royals will look to continue their early-season success against the struggling Minnesota Twins when the American League Central rivals conclude a three-game series Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for the evening, with rain and 59-degree temperatures in the forecast. The Royals (2-2) have taken the first two games of the set, including a 13-9 slugfest Wednesday and a 3-1 victory Monday. Kansas City’s pitching has stifled Minnesota, holding the Twins to a .212 team average in the series. The Twins (1-3) have dropped three straight since a season-opening win and will turn to right-hander Taj Bradley (0-0) to stop the skid. Bradley will make his season debut. He will be opposed by Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (0-1), who seeks to rebound from a loss in Atlanta. Ragans allowed four runs in five innings on March 28. A key matchup will feature Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson, who is slated for relief. He took the loss Monday, allowing two runs over five innings. The Royals will watch for lefty Kris Bubic, who earned the win in that same game with six strong innings of one-run ball. According to National Statistical, the Royals are projected favorites with a 61.5% win probability. Its simulator predicts a 6-3 Kansas City victory. Betting markets list the Royals as a -1.5 favorite with an over/under of 9.5 runs. After the series, the Twins return to Minneapolis to host the Tampa Bay Rays for three games beginning Friday. The Royals will welcome the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game interleague series starting Friday.