MINNEAPOLIS _ The Twins sliced another game off their magic number on Thursday. Whether they're close to slicing another pitcher out of their postseason rotation is becoming an urgent question.
Nelson Cruz homered twice, leaving him one short of 400 for his career, and Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver also connected, helping the Twins rally for an 8-5 victory over the Royals at Target Field. The victory maintained Minnesota's four-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, but with just nine games remaining, reduced their magic number for clinching their first division title since 2010 to six.
The standard offensive fireworks _ the Twins have outhomered the Royals 23-12 this season, with six more games to come _ and strong relief pitching made for a pleasant night at the ballpark for the home team. Well, except for Kyle Gibson, whose late-season slump showed no signs of disappearing.
Gibson didn't allow a hit or walk to the first five batters he faced, but then he suddenly allowed seven straight Royals to reach base, even walking in two runs in a messy, 52-pitch outing. Gibson, who had hoped that extra time off between starts might make a difference, instead allowed three runs, three hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.
Gibson's ERA has climbed to 4.88 and it's 7.14 since Aug. 1, perhaps putting his potential role in a postseason series in doubt. The playoff schedule never forces teams to play more than two consecutive days, allowing contenders to get by with three starting pitchers if they choose. With Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi occupying two of the spots, Gibson once seemed like the logical choice for the Twins' rotation, too _ but that was before health problems, and control problems, began taking a toll.
"Maybe he's been at 90 percent of what he's capable of. It's pretty admirable that a guy goes out there for an entire season and pretty much makes all of his starts, and does a pretty nice job, and he's dealing with something like (health issues) on the side," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. Gibson contracted a case of E.coli over the winter, and last month spent 10 days on the injured list with ulcerative colitis. "This has encompassed his entire life. It's been challenging to deal with, but he finds ways to still go about his business and prepare for his starts."
But his command deserted him Thursday, when fewer than half of his pitches _ just 25 of 52 _ found the strike zone. The three hits he allowed were all singles, but when Gibson walked three consecutive hitters, his night was over early. It could have been worse, too; one of the five outs Gibson recorded came on a play at the plate, with Luis Arraez throwing out Ryan McBroom from left field.
With the exception of a one-inning "opener" assignment in July, it was the shortest of Gibson's 188 career starts.
The right-hander's problems handed Kansas City an early 3-0 lead, but it lasted only until the Twins' home-run bombardiers arrived. After a Garver single and Jorge Polanco double in the third inning, Cruz crushed a Mike Montgomery fastball to right-center. It also counted as the Twins' 380th run of the season, setting a new Minnesota record.
Two batters later, Sano connected, too, blasting a pitch into the third deck in left field to give the Twins the lead. The Royals responded with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to retake the lead, but the Twins simply unleashed their power again. Garver hit a 3-2 sinker over the center field fence.
Two innings later, Cruz connected again, home run No. 399, tying him for 57th on baseball's all-time list.
