MINNEAPOLIS _ Here's one way for the Twins to make up for some of the offense they lost by trading Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier: Restore the old Max Kepler.
The third-year outfielder, who appeared on his way to a breakout season in April, crushed a two-run home run off Royals right-hander Burch Smith on Saturday to put the Twins in front for good. Kepler added two singles and a walk, and led Minnesota to its second straight victory over Kansas City, 8-2 at Target Field.
Jose Berrios pitched seven strong innings, suffering only a three-walk hiccup in the third inning that cost him two runs. But he recovered to limit the last-place Royals to only five hits, all of them singles, and he struck out six to beat Kansas City for the second time in less than a month. Berrios recorded his 11th win, and cut his ERA to 3.51.
He had plenty of support to work with. The Twins smashed three home runs, starting with Eddie Rosario's shot into the seats in right off Smith in the first inning, and Kepler added his in the fourth. Logan Morrison connected off reliever Glenn Sparkman in the seventh inning, his 15th of the season.
A Bobby Wilson ground-rule double _ the ball stuck in the padding of the wall in left-center field, denying him even an against-all-odds chance of collecting his first career triple _ turned into a run in the fifth when Joe Mauer singled and Rosario added a sacrifice fly. And Logan Forsythe greeted Sparkman with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning, followed by a Wilson ground ball that drove in Kepler.
Kepler's offensive inconsistency has been an ongoing mystery for much of the season. He had a trio of three-hit games in April and batted .300 for the month. But Saturday's 3-for-3 night was his first since then, and his RBIs were the first in 10 days. He added a walk in the seventh, the first time all season he has reached base four times.
Kepler, still only 25 in his third season, batted only .204 in May, and .163 in June before improving to .258 in July. His walk rate has improved greatly _ Kepler leads the Twins with 49 walks _ but it has translated to only a .322 on-base percentage.
The newest Twin made major-league history by pitching the ninth inning. Oliver Drake, claimed off waivers on Friday, made his Twins debut by retiring all three Royals he faced in the ninth inning. After starting the season with the Brewers, then working for the Indians, Angels and Blue Jays over the past three months, Drake became the first major leaguer ever to play for five teams in one season.
