{"id":660432,"date":"2026-04-03T06:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660432\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T06:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:56:18","slug":"late-homers-help-twins-end-skid-vs-royals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/660432\/","title":{"rendered":"Late homers help Twins end skid vs. Royals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"submission-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Kansas+City%2C+MO&amp;city=Kansas+City&amp;type=Update+Existing+Story&amp;headline=Late+homers+help+Twins+end+skid+vs.+Royals&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmo%2Fkansas-city%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Flate-homers-help-twins-end-skid-vs-royals-1%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/69cf31101dcc8.jpg\" alt=\"An abstract, energetic painting featuring bold, neon-colored brushstrokes that capture the explosive motion and raw power of a baseball player swinging a bat and hitting a home run.\" width=\"1344\" height=\"768\" class=\"news-image\"\/>The Minnesota Twins&#8217; late-game power surge fueled their comeback victory over the Kansas City Royals.Kansas City Today<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Twins defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Thursday, with Taj Bradley throwing six scoreless innings and the Twins hitting three home runs in the 9th inning to end their three-game losing streak. Matt Wallner, Kody Clemens, and Josh Bell all hit solo homers in the 9th to seal the victory for Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>      Why it matters<\/p>\n<p>The win helps the Twins bounce back after dropping the first two games of the series against the Royals, who had been on a three-game winning streak. Minnesota&#8217;s offense came alive late to support a strong pitching performance from Taj Bradley.<\/p>\n<p>            The details<\/p>\n<p>Taj Bradley (1-0) threw six scoreless innings for the Twins, allowing just five hits and striking out three. Cole Ragans (0-2) took the loss for the Royals despite not allowing an earned run, giving up four hits and striking out eight over 6 innings. The Twins grabbed an early lead in the 2nd inning on an error by Royals catcher Salvador Perez. Minnesota&#8217;s bullpen held the Royals in check until the 8th inning, when Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. singled to cut the deficit to 4-1. But the Twins broke the game open in the 9th with the three solo homers.<\/p>\n<p>      The game was played on Thursday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>        The players<\/p>\n<p>        Taj Bradley<\/p>\n<p>The starting pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, who threw six scoreless innings and earned the win.<\/p>\n<p>Cole Ragans<\/p>\n<p>The starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, who took the loss despite a strong outing.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Wallner<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Twins outfielder who hit a solo home run in the 9th inning.<\/p>\n<p>Kody Clemens<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Twins infielder who hit a solo home run in the 9th inning.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Bell<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Twins designated hitter who hit a solo home run in the 9th inning.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.nationaltoday.com\/news?location=Kansas+City%2C+MO&amp;city=Kansas+City&amp;type=Upload+Story+Photos&amp;headline=Late+homers+help+Twins+end+skid+vs.+Royals&amp;page=https%3A%2F%2Fnationaltoday.com%2Fus%2Fmo%2Fkansas-city%2Fnews%2F2026%2F04%2F03%2Flate-homers-help-twins-end-skid-vs-royals-1%2F\" class=\"submission-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a><br \/>\n            What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-quote\">\u201cWe must have been due for a big inning like that. The guys really came through when we needed it most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"news-quote-cite\">\u2014 Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota Twins Manager<\/p>\n<p>            What\u2019s next<\/p>\n<p>The Twins will look to build on this win as they continue their series against the Royals on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>        The takeaway<\/p>\n<p>The Twins&#8217; late power surge helped them snap a three-game skid and earn a much-needed victory over their division rivals. Their ability to rally late in the game shows the team&#8217;s resilience and offensive potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Minnesota Twins&#8217; late-game power surge fueled their comeback victory&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2388],"tags":[5,822,60,3190,4,148],"class_list":{"0":"post-660432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-twins","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-twins","11":"tag-minnesotatwins","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-twins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116339474350268520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}