BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — Noah Cameron pitched six strong innings and Starling Marte hit a three-run homer as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-5 on Sunday afternoon at Target Field. Cameron allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none to earn his third win against four losses. Lucas Erceg recorded his 12th save with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Nick Loftin’s RBI double. The Royals broke the game open in the fifth, scoring four runs. Marte homered to center field, driving in Lane Thomas and Maikel Garcia. Kansas City added a run in the eighth on Carter Jensen’s sacrifice fly. Minnesota rallied in the ninth. Josh Bell belted a three-run homer off reliever Mason Black, and Victor Caratini singled home Trevor Larnach to cut the deficit to one. But Erceg induced a groundout to end the threat. Connor Prielipp took the loss, allowing four hits and two earned runs in 4⅓ innings with seven strikeouts. The Twins fell to 30-37, while the Royals improved to 27-39. Attendance was 19,876. Game time was 2:49.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — The Kansas City Royals survived a furious ninth-inning rally by the Minnesota Twins to claim a 6-5 victory Sunday afternoon at Target Field, evening the four-game series at two wins apiece. Starter Noah Cameron delivered a dominant six-inning performance, allowing only three hits and no earned runs while striking out seven, to earn his third win of the season. The Royals built a 5-1 lead through five innings and added an insurance run in the eighth, then held on as the Twins scored four times in the bottom of the ninth before Lucas Erceg recorded the final out for his 12th save. Kansas City struck first in the fourth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino doubled and scored on a double by Nick Loftin to make it 1-0. The Royals broke the game open in the fifth. Carter Jensen singled, Lane Thomas singled and Maikel Garcia drove in Jensen with a single that deflected off second baseman Luke Keaschall. Starling Marte followed with a three-run home run to center field, his first of the season, scoring Thomas and Garcia to push the lead to 5-0. Minnesota had scored its first run in the second inning on a fielder’s choice by Ryan Kreidler that plated Kody Clemens, who had reached on a single and advanced on an error. The Twins managed little against Cameron after that, with the Royals starter retiring eight of the last nine batters he faced. Cameron’s outing continued a recent stretch of strong work. In his previous start June 2 at Cincinnati, he allowed one earned run over seven innings, and on May 27 against the New York Yankees he gave up two earned runs in five innings. On Sunday, he walked none and threw 70 of 96 pitches for strikes. Kansas City added a key run in the eighth inning against Twins reliever Cody Laweryson. Pasquantino singled, Loftin walked and Isaac Collins walked to load the bases. Jensen lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Pasquantino and making it 6-1. The Twins mounted their comeback in the ninth against the Kansas City bullpen. Erceg entered with a five-run lead but immediately struggled. Orlando Arcia walked and Kody Clemens singled, bringing Josh Bell to the plate. Bell crushed a three-run home run to right field, his sixth of the season, cutting the deficit to 6-4. After Royce Lewis grounded out, Trevor Larnach doubled. Luke Keaschall lined out, but Victor Caratini singled sharply to center field, deflected by Erceg, scoring Larnach to make it 6-5. Tristan Gray then singled to put runners at first and second with two outs, but Brooks Lee flied out to left fielder Isaac Collins to end the game. Erceg allowed two hits and two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning but was credited with his 12th save. Mason Black pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing no hits and striking out one. John Schreiber worked a perfect eighth inning with no hits. For Minnesota, starter Connor Prielipp took the loss, falling to 2-4. He allowed four hits and two earned runs over four and one-third innings, striking out seven. Prielipp exited after Marte’s home run. Laweryson surrendered one earned run on two hits in two innings, striking out three. Justin Lawrence pitched a scoreless ninth. Offensively, Kansas City collected nine hits. Loftin was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one run. Marte finished 1-for-4 with the three-run homer. Pasquantino doubled and singled, scoring two runs. Minnesota had eight hits. Bell was 1-for-4 with the three-run homer. Clemens singled twice and scored twice. Larnach doubled and scored a run. The Royals improved to 27-39, while the Twins fell to 30-37. Attendance was 19,876. The game lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes. The series began Thursday with a Royals 8-6 win, followed by a Twins 5-3 victory Friday and a Royals 3-2 win Saturday. Kansas City returns home to host Texas on Tuesday, while Minnesota travels to Detroit for a three-game series starting Tuesday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota Twins 4, Kansas City Royals 3. Kansas City had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over/under line of 9.

SUNDAY’S GAME PREVIEW: ROYALS AT TWINS MINNEAPOLIS (Interstat) — The Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins conclude a weekend series Sunday evening at Target Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. under clear skies and a forecast temperature of 85 degrees. Kansas City (26-39) enters having split the first two games of the series, taking the opener 8-6 on Thursday before dropping Friday’s contest 5-3 and rebounding Saturday with a 3-2 win. Minnesota (30-36) has lost three of its last four games. The Royals are expected to start left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-3, 4.50 ERA), who has not faced the Twins this season. Prielipp, a 24-year-old rookie, has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his nine starts. His most recent outing came June 1 at Cincinnati, where he pitched five innings of two-hit ball in a 9-2 victory. Kansas City’s bullpen, which has a 4.20 ERA, will be well-rested after Saturday’s starter, Noah Cameron, worked six innings. The Twins counter with right-hander Joe Ryan (6-4, 3.12 ERA), who took the loss Saturday despite allowing one earned run over six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan has been sharp of late, posting a 1.93 ERA over his last three starts. Minnesota’s offense has been inconsistent, scoring three runs or fewer in four of its last six games. Third baseman Royce Lewis has been a bright spot, hitting .310 with four home runs in June. For the Royals, catcher Carter Jensen has driven in two runs in the series, including a solo home run Saturday. Outfielder Kyle Isbel has hit safely in six of his last nine games. The Twins have won four of the seven meetings this season, outscoring Kansas City 38-33. The Royals have struggled on the road, going 11-20 away from Kauffman Stadium. Minnesota is 16-17 at home. Kansas City is listed as a -1.5 favorite, with the over/under set at 9 runs. The Interstat game simulator projects a 4-3 Twins victory. Following Sunday’s game, the Royals head home to host the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, while the Twins travel to Detroit for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.