KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ This is the formula the Twins allowed themselves to dream about back in Fort Myers, back when another big step forward seemed plausible. Byron Buxton dazzles with his extra-base power, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler drive in critical runs, Kennys Vargas launches a monster home run, and Michael Tonkin picks up the victory in relief _ an army of still-developing youngsters, none older than 26, winning competitive games against the defending world champs.
It hasn't worked out that way, not by a long shot. Quite the opposite, in fact. But that young corps will always have Thursday night's 7-6 victory, their first in Kauffman Stadium all season, as a lonely souvenir of a season in the ditch.
Buxton tripled and doubled and scored both times, drove in a couple runs himself, Vargas became the Twins' 10th player with 10 or more homers this season, and the Twins scorched the Royals bullpen for three runs in the ninth inning to snap a nine-game losing streak on the Royals' home field. Minnesota won for just the second time in 12 games, and put off, for at least one more day, a record-setting 103rd loss.
The Twins blew their 4-2 seventh-inning lead when Kyle Gibson surrendered three straight hits, including Jarrod Dyson's RBI triple, in his 148th and final inning of the season. But with the score tied at 4 in the ninth, Buxton doubled and went to third base on Jorge Polanco's infield hit, then scored when Robbie Grossman lined a single to center. Sano followed with an RBI single of his own, and after Vargas struck out, Kepler laced a hit to give the Twins a three-run cushion.
Tonkin, who had not appeared in a Twins victory since Aug. 2, earned the victory by retiring four of the five hitters he faced, two of them by strikeout. Brandon Kintzler recorded his 16th save in 19 opportunities by working his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the ninth. Eric Hosmer grounded into a run-scoring double play and Salvador Perez singled home another run, but Kintzler picked off pinch-runner Terrance Gore to end the game, albeit only after a video replay overturned the original safe call.
The Twins' seven runs were their most since scoring nine against Detroit on Sept. 14, and broke their franchise-record single-season streak of 11 straight games with three runs or fewer.
The Royals took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning on RBI singles by Alcides Escobar and former Twin Drew Butera, who tied his career high with three hits on the night, and scored on all three. Kyle Gibson allowed four runs in 6 1/3 innings, closing his 2016 season with a 6-11 record and a 5.07 ERA.
