MAT's bunt double is 'not normally how that happens'

MINNEAPOLIS -- Actually swinging the bat to get an extra-base hit is overrated, anyway.

Statcast said the ball traveled three feet in the air when Michael A. Taylor dropped a perfect squeeze bunt in the fourth inning of the Twins' 8-6 win over the Royals on Friday at Target Field -- but Taylor found himself standing on second base with an RBI bunt double, an impressive reward for heads-up baserunning that took advantage of Kansas City’s defensive lapses.

“That’s not normally how that happens,” said the typically concise Taylor.

It’s only the seventh bunt double tracked by Statcast (with the earliest dating to September 2018), and the first since Yoán Moncada had one against the Yankees on May 22, 2022. It served as the unique highlight of an inning that otherwise showcased the Twins’ desire to be more aggressive with their baserunning throughout the season.

Joey Gallo’s leadoff triple put a runner on third, and when Taylor stepped to the plate as the No. 9 hitter, he deadened the ball perfectly in front of home plate, where four Royals converged to field the ball.

Crucially, Kansas City second baseman Michael Massey got a late break in moving over to cover first base while first baseman Nick Pratto charged the ball, meaning nobody was available to receive the throw as Taylor raced to first base safely.

“I did a bad job on that, because I usually come in in case he pushes it hard, then try to get to first,” Massey said. “I got caught for a second. I should have been at first base. And then once he got there, I should have realized that I had to get back to second, as well.”

Meanwhile, first-base coach Hank Conger was pointing and yelling for Taylor to take second, and when Taylor looked up, he saw no Royals defender within 70 feet of second base, since the second baseman was standing next to him and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had immediately moved to cover third base when Taylor dropped the bunt.

So, Taylor just kept going.

Catcher Salvador Perez, who had fielded the ball, had his back turned to the play and reacted very late as Witt sped over to second base and called for the ball. They had no chance to get the speedy Taylor, who went on to steal third and score on Jorge Polanco’s three-run homer -- his 100th career long ball -- to cap a four-run frame that gave Minnesota a 7-2 lead.

“From the beginning of camp, Michael Taylor was excited and really kind of prodding and asking, and seeing what we were willing to let him do on the bases,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s been a guy that has really wanted to grab some bags and play the kind of baseball we’ve talked about playing.”

The only question from there was if Taylor had any notion of going for third (there was nobody on that bag, either). But since the speedy Witt -- one of the Majors’ fastest players -- was standing next to him with the ball, Taylor decided not to try his odds.

“Once [Witt] had the ball and he was in front of me, I like him in that footrace,” Taylor said.