Royals' Bats and Bullpen Falter in Series Finale Loss to Twins

Despite a strong outing from pitcher Cole Ragans, the Royals offense and relief pitching struggled in the 5-1 defeat.

Apr. 2, 2026 at 11:34pm

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An abstract, cubist-style painting depicting a baseball game, with the players, field, and stadium broken down into sharp, overlapping geometric shapes and planes of color, creating a dynamic and fragmented visual representation of the game's action.A cubist interpretation of the Royals' series finale loss to the Twins, with the game's action fragmented into a dynamic, geometric composition.Kansas City Today

The Kansas City Royals were unable to build on their offensive outburst from the previous game, scoring just one run on seven hits in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins in the series finale. Twins starter Taj Bradley shut down the Royals' bats for six scoreless innings, while the Royals' bullpen faltered late, allowing three solo home runs in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach. The bright spot for the Royals was the performance of pitcher Cole Ragans, who bounced back from his rough Opening Day start with six innings of one-unearned-run ball and eight strikeouts.

Why it matters

The loss snaps the Royals' momentum after winning the series against the Twins, but they still enter the weekend series against the Brewers at .500 (3-3). The Royals' starting rotation has been a strength so far this season, but the bullpen remains a concern as they try to find consistency.

The details

Despite the offensive struggles, the Royals were able to cut the Twins' lead to one run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. However, the Twins quickly responded in the ninth with three solo home runs to put the game out of reach. Royals manager Matt Quatraro will need to find reliable options in the bullpen to complement the strong starting pitching, with Carlos Estévez currently on the injured list.

  • The Royals scored 13 runs on 15 hits in Wednesday's game against the Twins.
  • On Thursday, the Royals managed just one run on seven hits in the series finale.
  • The Twins' Taj Bradley shut down the Royals' bats for six scoreless innings.
  • The Royals cut the deficit to one run in the eighth inning, but the Twins responded with three solo home runs in the ninth.

The players

Cole Ragans

The Royals' starting pitcher, who bounced back from his rough Opening Day start with six innings of one-unearned-run ball and eight strikeouts.

Vinnie Pasquantino

The Royals' first baseman, who hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to cut the Twins' lead to one run.

Taj Bradley

The Twins' starting pitcher, who shut down the Royals' bats for six scoreless innings.

Steven Cruz

The Royals' relief pitcher, who allowed three solo home runs in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach.

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What they’re saying

“We just got to keep fighting from the offensive side. We won the series. That's the goal of these things.”

— Vinnie Pasquantino, First Baseman

“It's been fun to watch. I feel like we take pride in our preparation and stuff like that, and it's been fun to watch these guys do their thing.”

— Cole Ragans, Pitcher

“We're going to take that result every time – six innings, and it looked like he was probably going to get five, but then the fourth, fifth and sixth were really good.”

— Matt Quatraro, Manager

What’s next

The Royals will look to bounce back in their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers as they try to maintain their .500 record.

The takeaway

While the Royals' starting rotation has been a strength so far this season, the team's bullpen remains a concern and will need to find more consistency if the Royals want to compete in the AL Central. The offense also needs to find more offensive production to support the strong pitching.