KANSAS CITY, MO. — Jorge Polanco homered in the first inning, Byron Buxton in the fifth, and the Twins' 2021 season ended on a two-game winning streak with a 7-3 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Minnesota finished with eight wins in its final 12 games, avoiding a 90-loss season with a 73-89 record. It is, however, the Twins' seventh losing season in the 12-year Target Field era, and fifth last-place finish.
The first six Twins hitters reached base to open the game, giving themselves a five-run lead that Kansas City could never close. Luis Arraez smacked the second pitch from Royals rookie Jackson Kowar into center field, Buxton followed with a double into the left-field corner, and Polanco connected with his team-high 33rd homer of the season, a long line drive over the fence in right-center field.
It was Polanco's fifth first-inning home run since September began, and his third in a row on the first pitch. But the Twins' punishment of Kowar wasn't finished.
Josh Donaldson drew a walk, Max Kepler singled him to third, and Miguel Sano brought him home with a single to left. When Nick Gordon beat the relay of a double-play ball, Kepler scored, too, and Twins rookie Charlie Barnes owned a 5-0 lead as he took the mound.
Barnes, making his eighth major-league start, lasted only 2 2/3 innings, however, allowing three runs on seven hits before being lifted. But Buxton's two-run shot in the fifth inning, a 420-foot homer that bounced off the scoreboard behind the left-field seats, boosted the lead back to four runs, and Kansas City managed only one hit in the final five innings, finishing its season one game ahead of the Twins at 74-88.
