KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The score titled toward the Royals as Glenn Sparkman took each of his trips to the mound last weekend, pitching with a lead for nearly a couple of hours. And then it all fell apart in a matter of minutes.
A second chance awaited in his next turn. By the time Sparkman walked onto the hill after the Royals' initial at-bat Thursday, he already had a lead.
Same opposing lineup. Same opposing pitcher, even.
Different result.
Sparkman matched his longest outing of the season, leading the Royals to a 4-1 victory to open a four-game series against the first-place Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
In a pitching rematch of a game the Twins won 5-4 on Saturday, the Royals chased Twins starter Jake Odorizzi, a 10-game winner, after just four innings. Sparkman (2-3) lasted seven for his first victory since May 1, his initial major-league appearance of 2019.
The Royals didn't have any hits leave the ballpark Thursday, but they collected 10 of them.
The early ones made the difference. The Royals (26-49) led the game with three of them _ a Whit Merrifield double down the left-field line, a Nicky Lopez single through the infield, an Alex Gordon double that flirted with the top of the wall in right center. Lucas Duda snapped an 0-for-20 skid to cap a three-run inning. Martin Maldonado doubled to drive in another run in the fourth.
Five days earlier, the Royals provided Sparkman an identical 4-1 lead. He lost the lead in the fifth and then was on the hook for the loss one inning later.
On Thursday, he held strong. And then some. Sparkman did not allow a batter to reach second base in his final three innings. The final line: seven innings, six baserunners, one run.
The Royals opened a four-game homestand with a win. The Royals play just seven of their final 24 games preceding the All-Star break inside their home stadium. An announced crowd of 22,683 was on hand Thursday.
The Twins (48-26) actually struck first, No. 2 hitter Jorge Polanco skying a ball 395 feet into the right-field bullpen. That was the extent of their offense.
The Royals followed with the deciding inning, with a new-look top of the order due to Adalberto Mondesi's absence. Merrifield hit his double 92.9 miles per hour, per Statcast. The Lopez single bounced through the left side of the infield at 94.3 miles per hour. After hitting a foul ball home-run distance, Gordon laced a ball 106.7 miles per hour that was just a foot shy of clearing the fence.
Odorizzi (10-3) needed 34 pitches to complete the inning. Dominant against the remainder of the league, he has struggled in each of the past two outings against the Royals, the team that offered him his MLB debut. Odorizzi gave up four runs and eight hits over four innings.
The Royals placed Mondesi on the 10-day injured list before the game due to mild groin tightness, offering Humberto Arteaga his major-league debut. Arteaga was 0 for 2 with a sacrifice bunt, but true to his scouting report, he had a few slick plays at shortstop.
