30 July 2023
KANSAS CITY — The Twins have consistently said over the course of the past month that they intend to be buyers ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. And this weekend’s series sweep at the hands of one of the Major League Baseball’s worst teams was as clear an example as any of what the Twins need to address in the coming days.
The Twins lost to the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, quieted by soft-tossing lefty Ryan Yarbrough for seven innings.
It was yet another sign that the Twins, who have the worst batting average and OPS in the majors against left-handed pitchers, could use a right-handed bat to add to the lineup. The Twins’ one run actually came courtesy of the only left-hander in their starting lineup, Matt Wallner, who socked his fifth home run of the season 445 feet out to right field, in the third inning.
Other than that, a Twins lineup that will now be without one of its most productive hitters — Alex Kirilloff, who suffered a shoulder strain — for the time being, had just one runner, Byron Buxton, who doubled in the sixth inning, in scoring position all afternoon.
That rendered yet another good start from Kenta Maeda — five innings, two runs — moot. Maeda gave up a solo home run to Freddy Fermin in the second inning and one more run in the third, on a pair of Royals hits, but otherwise held Kansas City in check.
In the Twins’ previous two losses to Kansas City, they saw their relievers give up five runs and four runs respectively, emphasizing the need for another dependable arm to add to the mix. Reliever Dylan Floro, whom they acquired on Wednesday in a trade with Miami, threw a scoreless inning in the loss but seemed to be dealing with an issue on his hand at one point during his inning.
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