KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Michael Massey delivered the decisive blow with a seventh-inning solo home run, and rookie right-hander Noah Cameron turned in a gem as the Kansas City Royals edged the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Massey broke a 1-1 tie by crushing a 422-foot shot off Minnesota reliever A.J. Minter (1-2) to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Massey finished the night 2-for-3 with two runs scored, accounting for both of Kansas City’s runs.
With the victory, the Royals have won nine of their last 10 games at Kauffman Stadium, marking the best home record in Major League Baseball since July 5.
Cameron (6-8) provided the backbone for the Royals with eight brilliant innings. The starter surrendered just one run on two hits and one walk while racking up nine strikeouts—including striking out the final five batters he faced to finish his night in style. Steven Cruz then pitched a perfect, 1-2-3 ninth inning to collect his third save of the season.
The Twins initially took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. Josh Bell led off with a walk, advanced to third on a single by Royce Lewis, and scored when Victor Caratini grounded into a double play. Lewis’s single extended his hit streak to a career-high 10 games—the longest by any Twin this season—and stretched his career-long on-base streak to 16 consecutive games.
Minnesota starter Dean Kremer matched Cameron early, allowing just one run on three hits over five solid innings.
Kansas City drew even in the bottom of the sixth when Kyle Isbel lifted a sacrifice fly—the Royals’ American League-leading 39th sac fly of the season—to drive home Massey before Massey took matters into his own hands an inning later.
The victory marks two straight for Kansas City over their division rivals following an 8-2 win in Tuesday night’s series opener, officially putting an end to the Royals’ recent four-game losing streak.
