A short rain delay didn’t slow down Ian Kennedy as the Royals won game one of the series, 10-4. He gave up two runs on six hits in that game and struck out nine while throwing a season-high 116 pitches.
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Edinson Volquez goes for the Royals up against the Twins Ervin Santana.
The Minnesota Twins ground crew pulls a tarp onto the field as a rain delay is called during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Minneapolis, Monday, May 23, 2016. “Especially with this rain delay”. Ian Kennedy takes the mound for Kansas City; Ricky Nolasco gets the start for Minnesota. Luckily for the Royals, the delay did not end Kennedy’s night.
If it’s a division opponent and it’s not the Cleveland Indians, the Twins are probably in for a long night. The Twins are 1-4 in their last 5 Tuesday games and 1-7 in Santanas last 8 starts. Cuthbert hit.255 with a homer and three RBIs in 13 games with the big league club this season. “Progress is wins. There isn’t anything here that’s going to be a moral victory”. You always want to win the series. They trail Chicago by three games now. “That’s your No. 1 goal”, manager Ned Yost said. “We did get a brief lead there, but we couldn’t get off the field”. When the Royals hit at least one homer, they have a 17-11 record. He limited them to two runs while striking out 10 over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 home win April 10. He is expected to miss the next three to four weeks.
Not that any of that mattered in the latest renewal of this one-sided rivalry. The All-Star catcher is batting.405 over a nine-game hit streak and is 11 for 19 in his last five games versus Minnesota. He was hobbling in the field and on the bases, but hung in there on a day when the Royals were banged up.
“It’s tough”, manager Paul Molitor said. “I think he had a chance to catch it”. Santana is coming off of his best outing of the season, going eight innings against the Blue Jays.
An ankle injury caused Nolasco to be lifted last May 31 after just one inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. “I’ll just do it again in five days”.
Nolasco said his health was good but his command was faulty.
The Royals can rebound by earning a seventh straight victory over Minnesota. His high remains eight on August 31, 2014 at Baltimore.
Nolasco failed to pitch three full innings for the fourth time in his 44 starts for the Twins.
We fully trust the Royals to snag a franchise-record eighth consecutive W over the worst squad in the majors, but it won’t be an outright rout as in the opener.
“It’s very frustrating”, Nolasco said. There are no excuses. That’s all we can ask for from each other as teammates: “Keep working hard”. Ian Kennedy pitched a quick and clean 3rd inning. Had the delay been any longer, the Royals would have gone straight to their bullpen after resuming play.
The Royals pinned two more runs on May, who saw his ERA climb to 5.64.
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Nolasco had a strong start against the Royals earlier this year in which he took a no decision after giving up just one run in seven innings of work. “Joe had good night, Grossman continues to play well”.
