KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Royals right-hander Brad Keller offered an interesting challenge for the Twins. Yes, he entered the game 3-8 with a 4.29 ERA. But he had allowed just four home runs over 86 innings pitched _ and just had a 42-inning homerless streak halted last Saturday against the White Sox.
Keller throws a good heavy fastball that opponents struggle to elevate out of the park, a potential kryptonite ball for the BombaSquad.
The Twins couldn't square up Keller for seven innings _ but after he left, they got the right swing from the right man at the right time.
"It just shows the character of our guys," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "No one panicked."
With two outs in the eighth, Mitch Garver pounded a Jake Diekman pitch to the juniper patch beyond the center-field wall for a two-run homer, sending a packed Target Field crazy on Prince Night and propelling the Twins to a 2-0 win over Kansas City.
An announced crowd of 38,898 watched Kyle Gibson two-hit the Royals for eight innings in his strongest outing of the season before yielding to Taylor Rogers. Rogers, making his first appearance since June 3, retired the side in order for his seventh save.
Keller was a handful himself as he held the Twins to three hits over seven innings. But in the eighth, Max Kepler drew a one-out walk off Diekman before Garver bashed a 96-mph sinker out to center.
It was Garver's 11th home run of the season, his second home run since coming off the injured list on June 2.
Keller's talents were evident the first time through the Twins order, as he gave up just one hit _ a single by Kepler that was wiped out when he was caught stealing _ including two harmless fly ball outs.
The Twins got two on in the sixth with one out, but Jonathan Schoop, who can blast breaking balls, grounded a slider into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play. The Twins' best scoring chance game in the sixth.
Byron Buxton was hit on the right hand with a pitch, and Kepler followed with a walk. Keller looked wobbly, falling behind 2-0 to Jorge Polanco.
Polanco got ahead 3-1, but the American League's leading hitter decided to square around for a bunt. He pulled it back, but the ball landed in the zone for a strike.
Polanco then chased a pitch up and out of the zone for strike three and walked back to the dugout looking like he knew he wasted the at-bat. Both Garver and Eddie Rosario flied out to end the inning, failing to pick him up.
But the Twins were still in a scoreless game thanks to Gibson, who was at the height of his powers Friday. He threw all four of his pitches for strikes, making him hard to figure out. Gibson faced the minimum through five innings, thanks to a fourth-inning double play following a Whit Merrifield single. Following the double play, Gibson retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced to roar into the ninth inning with 88 pitches thrown.
It was just what Baldelli needed. The Twins had called up three different pitchers from Class AAA Rochester in three days and they tried to keep fresh arms at the ready. The shuttle from Rochester had to stop.
"Regardless of whatever point in the season you're at and how things are going, any time your starters go deep into a game and you only have to use one or two relievers to finish a game, it's very helpful to everyone in the situation," Baldelli said before the game. "So we always look for those times to pop up when we need them most but regardless, our starters have been doing a nice job."
Buxton remained in the game after getting hit until his turn to bat came up in the eighth. He has a bruised wrist and is considered day-to-day.
