Kansas City Royals vs Minnesota Twins Match Player Stats On Sep 12, 2021

Kyle Isbel drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-3 in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Adalberto Mondesi homered and Whit Merrifield had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and scored twice for Kansas City (65-78). Jake Brentz (4-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief while Scott Barlow notched his 12th save.

Byron Buxton went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Brent Rooker had a two-run double for Minnesota (63-80).

The game was tied 3-3 in the eighth when Andrew Benintendi led off with a single to right off reliever Jorge Alcala (3-6). He went to second on a walk by Carlos Santana, who was swapped out for pinch-runner Hunter Dozier.

Mondesi sacrificed the runners to second and third, but Benintendi was then thrown out at the plate on a grounder by Ryan O'Hearn. Isbel, called up earlier Sunday from Triple-A Omaha when Michael A. Taylor was placed on the family medical emergency list, then drove in Dozier with a single to right.

Benintendi added an insurance run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly to tie the Royals record for RBIs for a seven-game road trip (14) set by Jeff King in 1997 and equaled by Kendrys Morales in 2016.

Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first against Twins starter Bailey Ober when Merrifield led off with a double that one-hopped the fence in left-center, advanced to third on an infield single by Nicky Lopez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez.

Minnesota tied it in the bottom of the first when Buxton led off with a ground-rule double to left, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Arraez.

Mondesi gave the Royals a 2-1 lead in the second with his sixth home run of the season, a 403-foot drive into the plaza behind the bleachers in right. Merrifield made it 3-1 in the fifth with a bloop double that landed on the right field line, driving in O'Hearn.

Minnesota tied it 3-3 in the sixth. Buxton and Rob Refsnyder led off with back-to-back singles and Josh Donaldson walked to load the bases. Rooker then lined a two-out double off reliever Domingo Tapia to left to drive in Buxton and Refsnyder.

--Field Level Media