Singer still unable to solve Twins in pivotal loss

MINNEAPOLIS -- Brady Singer entered Monday’s start with a 5.18 career ERA in 12 starts against the Twins and a 9.15 ERA in five starts at Target Field -- numbers that would make any pitcher shudder.

But Singer has been as solid as it gets for the Royals this year, with a 3.03 ERA in 23 starts entering Monday, an impressive bounce-back campaign after last year’s disappointing season.

So what better way to move past his Target Field woes than by showing up in a big game against a divisional opponent in the heat of a division race? The Royals entered Monday a half-game behind the Twins for second place in both the American League Central and the AL Wild Card standings.

Instead, the Twins jumped on Singer again in the Royals’ eventual 8-3 loss at Target Field. After Bobby Witt Jr. homered and Kyle Isbel knocked an RBI single, Singer gave up six runs in the second inning.

All came with two outs.

And it started with a walk.

Singer walked Carlos Santana on five pitches trying to get him to chase down and away with sinkers and sliders. Ryan Jeffers followed by poking a slider on the outside part of the zone to center field.

“[Santana is] obviously really good at not chasing,” Singer said. “Should have stayed in the zone a little bit more. That kind of spiraled the whole inning there.”

Santana scored from second when Austin Martin shot a sinker into right field. Hunter Renfroe slipped on the grass when he was trying to nab Santana at the plate. Instead of a play at home, Renfroe spiked the ball to Vinnie Pasquantino, who cut it off at first. Renfroe said his front foot slipped when he planted it to throw.

“I always like when he’s got a chance to throw somebody out,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “The accuracy, the arm strength, I thought we had a good shot there.”

That turned the lineup over, and that’s when things got ugly for Singer. Willi Castro blasted a three-run homer on a slider. With neither of his two main pitches working, Singer tried a changeup against Trevor Larnach, who singled to right field.

Royce Lewis capped it all with a two-run moonshot on a sinker that Singer was trying to throw inside. It leaked too much over the plate instead.

“I think the movement was not as good as I wanted it to be there in the second, but executing the pitch where it is in the zone probably trumps the movement,” Singer said.

Singer threw 34 pitches in the second inning and slammed his glove into the bench when he finally got the Royals into the dugout with a strikeout of Matt Wallner.

The Royals’ rotation has been one of baseball’s best this year, and Singer has been a big part of that. He’s aware of his numbers against the Twins and when he takes the mound in Minneapolis, but he said he doesn’t think about it.

“I’m just trying to give my team a chance to win the best I can,” Singer said. “I obviously didn’t do that well tonight.”

Singer was able to get through five innings and held the Twins scoreless for the final three, but the damage was done. The Royals scratched three runs against Twins starter Pablo López.

They had a near scare when Witt was hit by a pitch on his left arm, bouncing from his shoulder area to his forearm/wrist area to make his arm go numb, but he regained feeling and stayed in the game.

Witt had a bruise on his arm and went through tests postgame, so the Royals will know more about Witt’s status Tuesday.

“I think the loss hurts more than the hit by pitch,” Witt said.

The Royals have not won a series at Target Field in Witt’s career. They’re 0-5-1 in six series since their last series win in September 2021. Witt was mashing homers in Triple-A Omaha that year; now he’s becoming an MLB superstar and trying to lead the Royals to a playoff berth.

They’re going to have to beat Minnesota to get to where they want to go.

“We know our past against them and everything,” Witt said. “We’re just trying to take it one step at a time, scratch away early and go from there.

“... I think every game is a serious game at this point. You’ve got to go about it every day like we normally do. Keep taking things as normal as possible and don’t really think about it like a big series. But just enjoy it, enjoy the moment for sure.”