After letting 6-run lead slip away, Twins set sights on Royals

The Minnesota Twins will look to turn the page in a hurry when they open a four-game series at the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.

The Twins squandered a 7-1 lead heading into the fifth inning against the visiting Houston Astros on Sunday and fell 9-7 in 10 innings in the rubber match of the three-game series.

"Some losses are different than other losses," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "This is going to be a tough one that's going to bother a lot of people in our clubhouse, there's no doubt about it, and I can't think that we're wrong for thinking that. It's a game that we should win, a game that we need to win."

The Twins don't have good memories of their last trip to Kansas City, either. Minnesota was swept in a three-game series in early September, the beginning of a 6-16 stretch to end the season that erased any playoff hopes.

The Twins began this season with four straight losses and won three of four games before the collapse on Sunday.

"We've got to find a way to win a game like this when we've given ourselves a nice cushion, played really good baseball to get to the point where we have that 7-1 lead," Baldelli said. "You can't rest on laurels, you can't rest on a 7-1 lead."

Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson will take the mound for Minnesota in the series opener.

Woods Richardson (0-0, 4.50 ERA) allowed two runs and five hits in four innings in his season debut last Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. He left with the Twins trailing 2-0, but they rallied for an 8-3 victory for their first win of the season.

Only four of nine starters for Minnesota have recorded an out in the fifth inning.

"We need our starters, not only to go five (innings), we need our starters to go five, six or even seven innings in these games, and we're going to get those starts, but we haven't gotten probably quite enough of them," Baldelli said. "You're going to go through periods where you'll still have to pull together, win games with the bullpen."

Woods Richardson had made two starts against Kansas City in his career, going 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA.

The Royals are coming off a 4-1 win Sunday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of their three-game series.

Kansas City plans to start right-hander Michael Lorenzen in the series opener against Minnesota.

Lorenzen (0-1, 5.06 ERA) didn't receive any run support in his season debut last Tuesday and took the loss in a 5-0 defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. Lorenzen allowed four runs (three earned) and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three.

"Results weren't what I wanted," Lorenzen said. "You want to obviously go out and not give up runs and win a game and keep it close, but the process and the way I felt and the results of pitch quality was great. Just the results off the bat weren't great. ... But if I throw the ball like that all year, I feel like we'll be in a good spot."

Lorenzen has made five appearances against the Twins in his career, including two starts. He is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA and a save in those outings.

--Field Level Media