MJ Melendez homered for the second straight day, the Royals bullpen pitched five innings on two-hit ball and Kansas City beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Wednesday to end a difficult day on a positive note.
The Royals clinched their first series win in nearly a month, just hours after owner John Sherman fired general manager Dayton Moore, who led the franchise to two American League pennants and a World Series title.
Daniel Lynch gave up two runs on four hits over four turbulent innings before turning it over to the relievers, who were solid for the second night in a row.
Anthony Misiewicz (1-1) and the other three relievers preceded Scott Barlow, who overcame a ninth-inning error and earned his second save in as many nights, to reach 23 on the year.
Bailey Ober (1-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings, walking one. Minnesota led the AL Central just two weeks ago, but has lost six of seven games at the start of an eight-visit road trip, virtually bidding the playoffs goodbye.
For the Twins, Colombian Gio Urshela 4-1. Puerto Ricans Carlos Correa 3-1, José Miranda 4-0. Dominican Gary Sánchez 2-0 with a run scored, Gilberto Celestino 4-1. Venezuelans Jermaine Palacios 3-0, Sandy León 3-1, Luis Arráez 1-0.
