KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael Wacha pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, Garrett Hampson and Salvador Perez drove in runs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0 on Sunday to complete a series sweep of their closest pursuers in the AL wild-card race.
Wacha (12-7) struck out seven while allowing just one walk is 100th career win. He got plenty of help from his defense, which turned two double plays and threw out a runner trying to score from first base in the first inning.
Kris Bubic handled the eighth for Kansas City before Lucas Erceg worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 11th save.
“It’s definitely a cool number for sure, something that was on my goal list coming into the season,” Wacha said of his milestone win. “It was definitely one of those days when (Bubic and Erceg) came in and slammed the door there.”
Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks before he was pulled with one out in the fifth inning. Minnesota’s bullpen did not allow a run the rest of the way, though it didn’t matter with the offense getting shut out.
The Twins held a lengthy closed-door meeting after the game, and manager Rocco Baldelli issued a statement without taking questions, saying: “It’s an unprofessional series of baseball that we just played and that’s my only comment for the day. I’m not commenting on anything else. I don’t think anything else really has to be said.”
The Royals moved 2 1/2 games ahead of AL Central-rival Minnesota for the second wild-card spot.
“Just keep your head up. It’s a long season. We all know it,” Woods Richardson said. “Just take one pitch at a time. Lean on each other. Rely on each other. This is where a team becomes a team. Rely on each other and go to work.”
The Twins had a chance to strike in the first inning, and finally build some momentum after dropping four of the first six games on their seven-game trip. But Jose Miranda, who had singled, was thrown out by about a foot trying to score on Trevor Larnach’s double, and Royce Lewis eventually struck out to end the inning.
“Kind of get into some trouble there in the first. Big play at the plate,” Wacha said. “That was almost a little wake-up call, a little momentum-shifter, like, ‘OK, let’s not give them any more opportunities.’”
The Twins’ only other hits off Wacha came from Christian Vázquez leading off the third and sixth innings, and both times the veteran right-hander was able to get a double play to prevent a runner from even reaching second base again.
When the Royals got their chance, they took advantage of it.
MJ Melendez drew a walk leading off the fifth, and Freddy Fermin and Maikel Garcia followed with singles to load the bases for Hampson, who hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field. And when Tommy Pham walked to load the bases again, Perez followed with an RBI dribbler that traveled all of 80 feet down the third-base line for the only other run of the game.
“Those are the things where they happen for you, you feel good. When they happen against you, it’s devastating,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, “because you can’t plan for that. And that’s fortunate for us that it happened.”
RHP Brady Singer (9-10, 3.35) opens a three-game set against the Yankees on Monday night in New York. LHP Carlos Rodon (14-9, 4.19) will go for the Yankees.
