Ober's one-hit gem spoiled as Twins drop crucial set to Royals

KANSAS CITY -- Bailey Ober’s well-documented problems against the Royals evaporated Saturday night as his script against Kansas City changed dramatically, but it still wasn’t enough for the Twins.

The Royals had been Ober’s nemesis earlier this year and throughout his career, but it was Ober who turned out to be a problem for Kansas City most of the night. But the moment he left in the eighth inning, the Royals got to Jhoan Duran before capping their four-run rally against Griffin Jax as the Twins lost, 4-2, at Kauffman Stadium.

The loss dropped Minnesota to 1 1/2 games behind Kansas City for second place in the AL Central and in the AL Wild Card race, where they are four games ahead of Boston for the third and final spot.

Ober, who entered with a 19.89 ERA against the Royals in two starts this season, responded with a one-hit gem until the Royals put together a rally with the Twins ahead 2-0. Freddy Fermin singled and Robbie Grossman was hit by a pitch before Kyle Isbel, Tommy Pham and Bobby Witt Jr. strung together three straight hits.

Despite the blown lead, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t second-guess his decision to turn to the bullpen with a two-run lead.

“When you’ve got a two-run lead in the eighth inning, you should win the game. Period,” Baldelli said. “When you aren’t able to complete it, it’s going to frustrate everybody. And it should. We [handed] it to two very good relievers, guys we have trusted in that situation. Today, the Royals just found a way to find some spots."

Ober had thrown just 83 pitches through seven innings, but was taken out despite setting down 15 straight batters. The only hit Ober allowed was a rocket off the bat of Grossman to lead off the third inning that second baseman Edouard Julien got a glove on, but was not able to corral.

“After the seventh, I’m thinking maybe I can finish this thing out,” Ober said. “I felt like I was in control the whole day. The competitor in me wants to keep pitching. But I’m totally confident in those guys [in the bullpen] being able to shut the door.”

The Twins were still ahead by a run in the eighth when Pham’s slow roller to the left side caused Baldelli to question whether the Royals should have been called for interference on the basepaths. Third baseman Royce Lewis initially went for the ball, but stopped with pinch-runner Dairon Blanco bearing down on him. That left shortstop Brooks Lee to field the ball, which led to a wild throw to first, allowing the tying run to score.

“I’m pretty sure Royce had to move out of the way of the runner,” Baldelli said. “The runner did not cede to Royce in any way. If Royce goes after the ball, there’s probably going to be a major collision and Royce has to be able to make that play.

“I think the umpires did not get that right. That’s the game. A huge portion of the game was decided on that play.”

The Twins got their two runs in the third inning thanks to an RBI triple from Jose Miranda and an RBI double by Matt Wallner. But it wasn’t enough to spark a Minnesota offense which has only scored in just one of the 18 innings during the first two games against Kansas City.

“Two runs is usually not enough to win a game, but we felt like it should have been today,” Baldelli said. “We have a two-run lead in the eighth with our two best [relievers] rested and ready to go. I feel good about that.”

The only silver lining for the Twins was seeing Ober finally put his Royal woes in the rear-view mirror.

“I had everything going location-wise and movement-wise,” Ober said. “I was able to mix between five pitches and keep going up and down, in and out. I’m super confident in the guys at the back of the bullpen. It just happened to be one of those days.”