Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Match Player Stats On Jun 20, 2019

Glenn Sparkman allowed one run over seven innings and Alex Gordon had a two-run double as the Kansas City Royals snapped Jake Odorizzi's 10-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

It was the first loss since April 10 against Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets for Odorizzi (10-3) who entered the contest with an American League-best 2.24 ERA. He allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk before departing after just four innings, throwing 80 pitches, 53 of which were strikes. He struck out two.

Sparkman (2-3), who came into the contest with an 0-3 record and 6.75 ERA in five career appearances against the Twins, allowed five hits and a walk while striking out three.

Nicky Lopez, Jorge Soler and Lucas Duda each had two hits for Kansas City, which won for the fourth time in five games. Ian Kennedy pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his ninth save.

Jorge Polanco homered and C.J. Cron went 2-for-3 with a walk for Minnesota, which lost for the fourth time in five games.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Polanco belted his 11th home run of the season. The 395-foot blast to right marked the 33rd consecutive game that Polanco reached base, the longest streak in the majors this season.

Kansas City went ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the first, forcing Odorizzi to throw 34 pitches in the process. Whit Merrifield led off with a double and went to third on a single by Lopez. Gordon then followed with a double to right-center to drive in Merrifield and Lopez.

After Soler lined out to second, Gordon was erased on a fielder's choice when he got caught in a rundown between second and third. Duda then singled in Cheslor Cuthbert.

The Royals made it 4-1 in the fourth when Duda led off with a single, was sacrificed to second by Humberto Arteaga and scored on a double off the bottom of the fence in left-center by Martin Maldonado.

--Field Level Media