Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIN	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	4	7	0
KC	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	0

On the mound it was Bailey Ober against Michael Wacha, a pair of arms who both looked better than their records. Ober came in off a clean 6-inning, 2-run start against this same Royals lineup, and Wacha wasn't far behind — 6 innings, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts in his last time out, even in a loss to Colorado.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Twins(56-59)

LLLLW

4

+1.5-163+122o8.5-106

Royals(48-67)

WWLLL

3

-1.5+163-121u8.5+108

Best BetTwins +105

Postgame

The case leaned on Ober's stability over Wacha's shakier win-loss line, and that held up — Minnesota trailed most of the night before erupting for 3 in the 8th. The skid was real for 6 innings, but the same cold offense caught fire late and the moneyline pick cashed.

Pregame

The Twins are the road underdog here, which feels backwards given Ober has been the more consistent arm of these two staffs all year. Kansas City's bullpen is gutted by injury, and if this stays close into the middle innings, that's a real advantage for Minnesota late. The 4-game skid is scary, but a lot of that damage came against a red-hot version of this same Royals bullpen — buy low before the price catches up.

Minnesota was already down its rotation depth, with Joe Ryan landing on the injured list this week with a strained left glute — the latest arm lost from a group that also includes Pablo Lopez, David Festa and Mick Abel. Kansas City wasn't exactly whole either, missing Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia from the lineup, but the Royals had taken the first two of this series and carried that into Kauffman Stadium as the favorite.

Bailey Ober

(7-4)·4.62 ERA

Jul 30 vs Royals

ND

6.0IP

2ER

3K

2BB

79P

08/06 Lineup

Michael Wacha

(6-8)·3.58 ERA

Jul 31 @ Rockies

L

6.0IP

1ER

7K

0BB

99P

08/06 Lineup

For a while, that momentum looked like it was going to hold. Kansas City scored 2 in the 3rd and added another in the 6th, building a lead that had a Twins team on a 4-game losing streak looking like it was headed for a series sweep.

Minnesota Twins

(56-59)

Aug 5L@ Royals1-2

Aug 4L@ Royals2-8

Aug 2L@ Mariners6-7

Aug 1L@ Mariners3-4

Aug 1W@ Mariners5-3

Kansas City Royals

(48-67)

Aug 5Wvs Twins2-1

Aug 4Wvs Twins8-2

Aug 2L@ Rockies1-8

Aug 2L@ Rockies6-12

Aug 1L@ Rockies1-3

Then came the 8th. Minnesota strung together a 3-run rally to flip a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead, with Royce Lewis delivering a no-doubt homer in the middle of it, and the bullpen made the lead stand the rest of the way.

It's a skid-snapper for Minnesota and a rough finish for a Royals team that's now taken its lumps in a season already defined by attrition on the pitching staff.

Minnesota Twins

(8)

• 10-Day-ILByron Buxton (CF) — Buxton (hip) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.07/29
• 15-Day-ILAnthony Banda (RP) — Banda underwent surgery to repair his left lat strain and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/09
• OutJoe Ryan (SP) — MRI results revealed a strain in Ryan's left glute Thursday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.08/06
• 60-Day-ILMike Paredes (SP) — The Twins transferred Paredes (oblique) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Saturday.08/02
• 60-Day-ILCole Sands (RP) — Sands will undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove loose bodies and bone spurs from his right elbow, Jack Azoulay-Haron of ElEmergente.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILDavid Festa (SP) — Festa (shoulder) will undergo a season-ending double surgery Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/29
• 60-Day-ILMick Abel (SP) — The Twins plan to re-evaluate Abel (elbow) on Sept. 1, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILPablo Lopez (SP) — The Twins placed Lopez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Kansas City Royals

(12)

• 10-Day-ILMaikel Garcia (3B) — Garcia (hand) received a cortisone injection Tuesday and will be shut down for around five days before ramping up baseball activity, MLB.com reports.08/05
• 10-Day-ILVinnie Pasquantino (1B) — Pasquantino (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.07/29
• 15-Day-ILBeck Way (RP) — Way (back) is scheduled to start throwing Wednesday, per MLB.com.08/05
• 60-Day-ILLuinder Avila (SP) — Manager Matt Quatraro said that Avila is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.08/06
• 60-Day-ILNick Mears (RP) — Mears (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a mound progression next week, MLB.com reports.08/05
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Estevez (RP) — Estevez (shoulder) is scheduled to start a mound progression Friday, MLB.com reports.08/05
• 60-Day-ILStephen Kolek (SP) — Manager Matt Quatraro announced that Kolek is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.08/04
• 60-Day-ILConnor Seabold (RP) — The Royals placed Seabold on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right lat strain.08/03
• 60-Day-ILCole Ragans (SP) — Ragans underwent UCL repair surgery on his left elbow Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/02
• 60-Day-ILJonathan India (2B) — no06/04
• 60-Day-ILJames McArthur (RP) — McArthur (elbow) underwent surgery Friday to help combat continued soreness and inflammation, MLB.com reports.05/25
• 60-Day-ILAlec Marsh (SP) — The Royals placed Marsh (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08