29 July 2023
After the way he had tormented them all day, there was no one the Twins would have wanted to see at the plate less than Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr with the game on the line Friday night in Kansas City, Mo.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JULY 28: Pitcher Brady Singer #51 of the Kansas City Royals steps on first base before runner Matt Wallner #38 of the Minnesota Twins for an out during the 6th inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on July 28, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
He proved exactly why.
The Twins were one out from a loss in the ninth inning. They were three outs from a win in the 10th.
And then Witt took over. The Royals’ shortstop hit a walk-off grand slam off Twins closer Jhoan Duran in the 10th inning, sending them to a crushing 8-5 loss in the series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
That was part of a 4-for-5 night for the shortstop, who drove in six of the Royals’ eight runs. Witt’s grand slam capped off an uncharacteristic performance for Duran, who walked a pair of batters to load the bases — one runner was already on base to start the inning —before allowing the blast.
It came after the Twins had battled back in the ninth inning — a somewhat familiar occurrence for them this week — thanks in large part to a two-out, two-run double from Jorge Polanco, who was playing in his first game since straining his hamstring on June 8.
The Twins took the lead an inning later, using a Kyle Farmer single to bring home their auto runner.
Before their own late-inning heroics, it looked as if the Twins were headed to a 3-2 loss on a day when Sonny Gray certainly pitched well enough but the offense had been held mostly quiet.
On a steamy night in Missouri, Gray worked his way efficiently through the Royals’ lineup for most of his start. He gave up just two hits in his first five innings — one, a single to Witt, whom he promptly picked off, and the other a home run to Kyle Isbel.
And then came trouble.
Gray, who had retired 11 straight, allowed a triple to Maikel Garcia, a double to Witt and a single to M.J. Melendez in succession, quickly turning a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit. Witt delivered what looked to be an insurance run late in the game, adding an RBI single off Dylan Floro in his Twins debut. The eighth-inning run was charged to Jovani Moran, who began the inning.
Minnesota Twins’ Willi Castro scores from third base on a double steal during the fourth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
On a night where the Twins’ offense hadn’t manufactured much, it looked as if that was going to be enough. The Twins had scored their first run of the game in the fourth when a Ryan Jeffers single up the middle brought home Max Kepler to tie the game.
Shortly after his single, Jeffers and Willi Castro executed a double steal — their second of the year together — in which Castro raced home after Jeffers drew a throw from catcher Freddy Fermin to second. Jeffers managed to evade a tag, and there was no throw to the plate, allowing Castro to steal home for the third time this season and give the Twins the lead.
Their rally in the ninth inning came after Byron Buxton, pinch hitting for Joey Gallo in his first at-bat since coming off the paternity list, singled to start the frame. An Edouard Julien walk followed, and Donovan Solano was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
After Kepler made the second out of the inning, Polanco came through, showing just why the Twins missed him so much, sending a line-drive double into the right field corner.
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