MINNEAPOLIS — A week without driving in a run was all Jose Miranda could take.
The rookie infielder, 0-for-6 in his most recent at-bats with runners in scoring position, ended his week of frustration by lining a two-strike curveball from Royals starter Kris Bubic into right field during Monday's fifth inning. It dropped in front of Royals outfielder MJ Melendez, allowing Luis Arraez to score the tying run from third base, and the Twins went on to snap their two-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory at Target Field.
Jorge Polanco followed Miranda's timely hit with a sacrifice fly that brought Carlos Correa home from third, putting the Twins ahead for good.
Joe Ryan and three relievers held Kansas City scoreless the rest of the way, and the Twins won for only the second time in seven games. But it wasn't without drama in the ninth as Jorge Lopez put runners on at the corner with one out but got out of it with a double-play grounder for his second save in four opportunities with the Twins.
The victory narrowed Cleveland's lead in the AL Central to just two games, while giving the Twins a one-game cushion over third-place Chicago.
Miranda's critical hit delivered the 48th run of his season, moving him into third place in RBIs among the Twins, just seven short of Jorge Polanco's team-leading 55. What's remarkable is that Miranda spent all of April in the minor leagues, and drove in only seven runs in May.
But his midseason surge has made Miranda one of the most productive and dependable rookies in Twins history. Miranda's 48 RBIs in the first 77 games of his career are bettered only by Kent Hrbek, Max Kepler and Miguel Sano, each of whom drove in 52 runs in that span of their careers.
Speaking of Kepler, the slump-ridden outfielder snapped his 0-for-29 skid in the best way possible — with two singles and a double in his first three at-bats against Bubic, driving in the Twins' first run in the second inning and scoring their last one in the sixth. Gary Sanchez drove in Kepler with that insurance run, just his second RBI in two weeks.
That was enough of a cushion for rookie Joe Ryan, who beat the Royals for the third time this season. Ryan, who had allowed 17 runs in his previous three starts, started in alarming fashion again, surrendering a first-inning single to Salvador Perez, then leaving a 92-mph fastball in the middle of the strike zone. Vinnie Pasquantino slugged the mistake 411 feet onto the plaza in right field, and Kansas City had an early 2-0 lead.
Ryan allowed at least one baserunner in each of the six innings he appeared in, but each time got critical outs to hold the Royals at two runs. When Pasquantino reached third base on Michael Massey's double in the sixth inning, Caleb Thielbar was called upon to record the final two outs. He did, getting former Twins teammate Brent Rooker on a popup to left field, and striking out pinch-hitter Michael A. Taylor, with Thielbar pumping his fist in celebration at Taylor's weak swing at a curveball for strike three.
Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, the latter pitching for a rare third time in four days, retired the Royals with little trouble in the seventh and eighth innings, but new closer Jorge Lopez surrendered a leadoff double to Ryan O'Hearn when Byron Buxton's dive for his sinking liner came up short.
