Twins Power Past Royals with Three Ninth-Inning Homers for 5-1 Victory

The Minnesota Twins showcased their power in a thrilling ninth inning, belting three home runs to secure a decisive 5-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. Kody Clemens and Josh Bell both contributed to the late-game fireworks with back-to-back homers, while Matt Wallner also went deep earlier in the frame, marking a dramatic conclusion to the contest.

As the Twins entered the ninth inning with a slim 1-0 lead, the stage was set for an explosive finish. Matt Wallner ignited the power surge, connecting for a homer before Victor Caratini’s groundout. With Steven Cruz on the mound for the Royals, the Twins continued to capitalize, as Clemens and Bell followed suit, each sending the ball over the fence.

Earlier in the game, the Twins had taken the lead in the eighth inning. After Royals starter John Schreiber walked both Bell and Royce Lewis, he struck out Tristan Gray but opted to intentionally walk Trevor Larnach to set up a righty-righty matchup with Byron Buxton. Buxton made the Royals pay, lifting a sacrifice fly to center field, extending the Twins’ lead to 2-0.

The Royals fought back in the bottom of the eighth, narrowing the gap to 2-1. Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. strung together consecutive singles, followed by a sacrifice fly from Vinnie Pasquantino. However, Twins pitcher Cole Sands managed to limit the damage, getting Salvador Perez to ground out before handing the ball to Taylor Rogers, who struck out Jac Caglianone to end the inning.

In the ninth, Cruz’s struggles continued as he surrendered three runs on three hits, all homers, in a single inning of work. The Royals did threaten to make a comeback, bringing the tying run to the plate with no outs. Jonathan India reached base on a throwing error by Lewis, and Isaac Collins drew a walk. However, Lane Thomas grounded into a double play, and Kyle Isbel struck out to extinguish the rally.

Taj Bradley earned the win for the Twins, delivering six scoreless innings while allowing five hits and striking out three. On the other side, Cole Ragans took the loss despite a solid outing, giving up just one run in six innings while striking out eight.

With this victory, the Twins improved to 2-4 on the season, while the Royals fell to 3-3, sitting a half-game behind the Cleveland Guardians early in the 2026 MLB season.

Note: This recap is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting.