Twins fall to Royals 4-1, but happy with winning homestand vs. AL Central rivals

Trevor Larnach swung and missed at a changeup to end the seventh inning Wednesday, and he chucked his helmet to the ground in frustration.

Kansas City Royals lefthander Cole Ragans had that effect on Twins hitters all afternoon.

Ragans held the Twins to five hits and one run across his seven-inning outing, and the Twins couldn’t complete a three-game series sweep over their division rival in a 4-1 loss at Target Field. It was a sour ending to a successful homestand where the Twins posted a 4-3 record in games against Cleveland and Kansas City.

As important as the last seven games were for jockeying in the American League Central standings, it was a strong response after the Twins learned about key injuries. Joe Ryan and Brooks Lee went on the injured list before the first game of the homestand. Carlos Correa remained sidelined and Byron Buxton missed the last two games with a hip injury.

“Our farm system is top-notch,” Buxton said. “The guys that come up here, they come in and they do their job. They’re comfortable. When you’re comfortable, you can come up here and be yourself. That’s something we preach a lot around here.”

Louie Varland completed his longest major league outing since June 6, 2023, yielding three runs and eight hits over six innings. In a rotation already filled with rookies Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Zebby Matthews, the Twins allowed an average of 3.14 runs per game on the homestand.

“I can tell you that we’re ready,” Varland said. “I’ve seen enough of Zebby and Festa; they are complete dogs. They’re very good pitchers, and they’re going to step up to the challenge — them and me, as well. It’s going to be fun.”

There will be a spotlight on the Twins’ rotation over the final six weeks of the season. Bailey Ober and Pablo López are their only two starters with more than 22 starts in the big leagues as they push for a playoff spot.

Varland gave up a solo homer to Bobby Witt Jr. in the third inning on a pitch well above the strike zone. Varland missed out on a potential strikeout when he didn’t receive a strike call on a cutter at the top of the strike zone, and Witt drilled the next pitch, a chest-high 97-mph fastball, over the wall in left-center field.

Royals third baseman Paul DeJong, a trade deadline acquisition from the Chicago White Sox, scored after hitting a one-out double in the second inning and again when he hit a solo homer in the sixth inning.

“If we were able to swing the bats the way we were the last couple of days, we’re probably sitting here really singing [Varland’s] praises,” Baldelli said.

Ragans quieted the Twins offense after they beat up on Seth Lugo and Brady Singer earlier in the series. Ragans retired his first 11 batters with only one ball leaving the infield. He finished with eight strikeouts, generating several swings-and-misses with his changeup and a fastball that reached 99 mph.

Carlos Santana ended Ragans’ shutout with two outs in the fourth inning when he clobbered a changeup to the second deck in left field for his 16th home run of the season.

The Twins, trailing by one run in the fifth inning, loaded the bases after back-to-back two-out singles from Austin Martin and Manuel Margot. Royce Lewis, who has five career grand slams and homered off Ragans on Opening Day, bounced into an inning-ending groundout.

After seven games against division rivals, the Twins are essentially in the same place they started. Considering all the injuries that piled up, they’re fine with the results.

“We feel great,” Jose Miranda said. “We just faced two really good teams in our division. We won this series, so that’s a good thing. Any time you win a series is pretty good. Last series was a tie, and that was good too. All positive.”