Three home runs and nine other hits paced the Minnesota Twins to a 10-7 win on Monday night over the Kansas City Royals, helping them take the first of a three-game series.
The Twins had a 10-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Royals scored twice and put the tying run on deck, forcing Ron Gardenhire to go to his closer Matt Capps to get the final out of the game.
Josh Willingham started the scoring in the first with a two-run home run and had three runs batted in. Justin Morneau added two runs on a two-run homer in the fifth and Trevor Plouffe hit a solo shot two batters later.
Cole De Vries picked up his first career win despite only going five innings. He gave up four earned runs and struck out four opposite no walks in the outing. Capps picked up his 13th save of the season by recording the final out of the game.
The Twins and Royals continue their series on Tuesday night at 7:10 p.m. CT.
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