Three Things to Take Away From the Royals' 6-5 Win Over the Twins
Thanks to another two home run game from designated hitter Salvador Perez, the Kansas City Royals were able to secure their fourth straight victory with a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins tonight.
The win brings the Royals two games above the .500 mark at 28-26 on the season. The Twins fall to 22-34.
Here are three takeaways from tonight's contest.
Salvador Perez can't stop hitting home runs
Another day, another two-run home run game for Salvador Perez. Prior to the game, Perez talked to the media about how his approach at the plate has changed this year. He said he's being more selective and not trying to pull as many pitches. Just taking what the pitcher is giving to him. He did that tonight as both of Perez's home runs went to the opposite field.
Kyle Zimmer has been nails since coming off the injured list.
Kyle Zimmer's career has been derailed time and time again and the sentiment around him was always "when he's healthy, he's good." We're getting a good glimpse of what that means. Since coming back from the injured list on May 18, Zimmer has given up no runs on two hits and four walks while striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings. He's been the Royals' best reliever as of late and with no scheduled day off until June 17, it'll be interesting to see how Royals manager Mike Matheny will use him going forward.
Scott Barlow is also nails.
The Royals have gotten some really good innings out of their bullpen recently. Scott Barlow collected the two-inning save as he tallied two strikeouts and allowed one walk and no hits in the one-run win. Heading into tonight's game, Barlow has allowed six runs on 20 hits while striking out 41 in 27 innings pitched. This season, the 28-year-old already has four more strikeouts than last year. Just like with Zimmer, how Matheny uses his big righty will be something to watch in the coming weeks.
