Twins Possess AL's Worst Record After Loss To Royals

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Kansas City Royals, 7-3, at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The loss puts them four games behind Kansas City in the "battle" for last place in the American League Central division. . .and it gets worse.

The Twins' loss, coupled with the Baltimore Orioles' 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, means that the Twins officially hold the worst record in the American League. The Twins' record now sits at at 59-89, and they're the only team in the American League. . .and only one of two teams in all of Major League Baseball. . .that have a winning percentage below .400. Minnesota's winning percentage is currently at .399, and only the Houston Astros are worse.

On this five game road trip that saw the Twins take on the Detroit Tigers and the Royals, the Twins had nearly as many errors committed (seven) as runs scored (ten). The Twins have lost five in a row, 10 of their last 11, and 19 of their last 23.

Liam Hendriks did not have the same sort of success in his second big league start that he did in his debut, as he allowed five runs on eight hits in five innings of work. The lone offensive highlight for the Twins came from Ben Revere, who had three stolen bases on the afternoon to bring his total for the season to 30.

Royals' starter Luke Hochevar allowed two runs on five hits to the Twins in six innings of work to even his record for the season at 11-11. Greg Holland picked up his third save of the season for Kansas City.

The Twins will take Thursday off before returning to Target Field to start a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians.

Twins Look To Avoid Getting Swept By Royals

The question for the Minnesota Twins as we approach the end of the 2011 season is transitioning from "can the Twins get out of last place in the American League Central" to "can the Twins avoid losing 100 games?"

After 147 games, the Twins have a record of 59-88. A record of 3-12 over the final 15 games of the year will give the Twins just their second 100-loss since moving to Minnesota. . .and with the way the Twins have played recently, it's a mark that certainly isn't out of reach.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Twins will face the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are three games ahead of Minnesota in the battle to stay out of the AL Central basement, aided by their 4-0 win over the Twins last night in which Kansas City pitchers held the Twins' offense to three hits and did not allow a runner to advance past second base.

Wednesday will mark the second major league start for young Australian right-hander Liam Hendriks. Hendriks was solid in his first start last Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox, allowing three runs on four hits in seven innings of work, but wound up with the loss as the White Sox defeated Minnesota, 3-0.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Luke Hochevar (10-11, 4.73 ERA). Hochevar has faced the Twins twice this season, collecting a record of 1-1 and an ERA of 4.66.

First pitch from Kansas City is scheduled for 3:10 PM Central time. Be sure to check out our friends at Twinkie Town for their Game Thread once the game gets underway, and we will have the recap here when things are all said and done.

Twins' Offense Disappears Again In 4-0 Loss To Royals

The Minnesota Twins' offense disappeared once again in the first of their two-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Minnesota could manage just two hits off of Royals' starter Bruce Chen, and the Twins failed to dent the scoreboard once again in a 4-0 loss at Kauffman Stadium.

The only hits Minnesota managed off of Chen were a first-inning single by Ben Revere, a fifth-inning infield single by Danny Valencia. Revere stole second after his leadoff single, making him the only Minnesota player to reach second base on the evening. Joe Mauer managed a ninth-inning single off of Kansas City reliever Louis Coleman, but the Twins could not make anything of it.

The Royals did all of their damage early against Minnesota starter Carl Pavano, striking in the bottom of the second with a solo homerun by Mike Moustakas to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Royals. It was Moustakas' first home run in 281 at-bats. His last home run came against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 11.

Kansas City added two more runs in the bottom of the third, with the first coming on a solo home run by Alex Gordon to make the score 2-0, and the second on an RBI groundout by Eric Hosmer to make the score 3-0. The Royals' final run came in the bottom of the fourth, when Gordon singled home Salvador Perez to make the score 4-0.

The loss for Minnesota put them a full three games behind the Royals for fourth place in the American League Central, a division they have won the last two seasons. The Royals have finished last in the AL Central in seven out of the last eight seasons. Minnesota has lost 18 of their last 22 games, and in losing the first four games of this road trip, they have scored just seven total runs while hitting .149 as a team.

The abbreviated series will conclude on Wednesday, with the first pitch from Kauffman Stadium scheduled for 3:10 PM Central time. Young Aussie Liam Hendriks will make his second career start for the Twins, while Luke Hochevar (10-11, 4.73 ERA) will take the mound for Kansas City.

Twins Travel To Kansas City To Take On Royals

For the internet's best coverage of the Minnesota Twins, be sure to check out our good friends at Twinkie Town.