The Kansas City Royals remain steadfast in their goal to pursue a wild-card playoff berth.
First, the Royals will have to climb back to .500. They have a chance to do so Sunday afternoon when they play the Minnesota Twins in the rubber match of a three-game series in Minneapolis.
The Twins won the series opener 9-4 on Friday night before the Royals evened the series with a 2-0 victory on Saturday evening.
Sunday’s matchup marks the end of a grueling nine-game road trip for the Royals, who traveled to face the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Twins for three games apiece. Kansas City is 4-4 on the trip heading into the series finale against Minnesota.
A win on Sunday could give the Royals positive momentum before they start a 10-game homestand. They will face the Washington Nationals for three games, the Chicago White Sox for three games and the Texas Rangers for four games as they look to gain ground in the standings.
Meanwhile, the Twins are aiming for their second series win in a row. Minnesota is 4-4 since its front office conducted a fire sale at the trade deadline, and the new-look Twins are eager to show what they can do with extended playing time down the stretch.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he remained confident in his young hitters despite Saturday’s shutout loss. Before scoring zero runs on Saturday, the Twins scored 24 runs over their previous three games.
The difference, Baldelli said, was how the Twins performed with runners in scoring position.
“It’ll frustrate you a little bit,” Baldelli said. “We did a heck of a job finding our way on, especially early on in the game. We did that perfectly. That’s exactly what you want to see. We had a lot of good at-bats. …
“And then we didn’t get any hits (with runners in scoring position). That’s it. That’s really it.”
Rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert (1-1, 2.83 ERA) will make his ninth start of the season and his second since joining Kansas City. The Royals acquired him from San Diego before the deadline in a trade that sent catcher Freddy Fermin to the Padres.
In his Royals debut, Bergert gave up two runs on two hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 6-2 loss to the host Red Sox. He walked two and struck out two.
Bergert never has faced the Twins.
Minnesota will counter with right-hander Jose Urena (0-0, 5.24), who will make his fourth start of the season and his second with the Twins. He gave up two runs on five hits in four innings in his first start for Minnesota against the host Cleveland Guardians last weekend.
The 33-year-old Urena has appeared in four games with one start against the Royals. He is 1-0 with a 4.97 ERA in 12 2/3 innings in those games.
Maikel Garcia will try to stay hot for Kansas City after ripping an RBI double on Saturday. Garcia is hitting .299 with 11 homers, 51 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 115 games.
“Just trying to look fastball,” Garcia told the Royals’ radio broadcast team after Saturday’s win. “He gave me a good fastball right on the outside corner, and I just went that way.”