Pérez homers twice again, Royals beat Twins 6-5 with error

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This article was published 03/06/2021 (1626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Pérez became only the fourth Kansas City player with consecutive multi-homer games and Jarrod Dyson scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning when centerfielder Gilberto Celestino made a pair of errors on a simple fly ball, helping the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 Thursday night.

Pérez hit a 456-foot solo homer in the first and another solo drive that just cleared the wall in the fifth off JA Happ. Pérez has 14 home runs this season and joined Ed Kirkpatrick in 1969, Darrell Porter in 1977 and Mike Sweeney as the only Royals with multiple homers in consecutive games.

“I was thinking that he would be aggressive, Pérez said of Happ. “I got fastballs against him in Minnesota, so I was ready.”

With the score 5-5 in the seventh, Carlos Santana walked against Hansel Robles (1-2) leading off, and Jarrod Dyson pinch ran and stole second. Pérez popped out and Andrew Benintendi flied to center. Celestino cut in front of left fielder Trevor Larnach and dropped the ball, then threw the ball over second. The ball rolled all the way to first as Dyson came home.

“When Dyson steps on the field and he’s on the bases, there is going to be pressure,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He was tagging up, and I think that it added some pressure to come up and make a throw to third base.”

“Obviously, we didn’t make the play,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We need to make that play.”

Jacob Junis (2-3) won after allowing Josh Donaldson’s second solo home run of the night in the seventh inning, and Scott Barlow pitched two hitless innings for his second save this season and the fifth of his big league career.

Donaldson, who has seven homers, also went deep in the first off Kris Bubic, who allowed four runs — three earned — and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Minnesota trailed 4-2 before Donaldson and Jorge Polanco doubled in the fifth and Miguel Sanó had a sacrifice fly. Polanco had three hits.

Happ gave up five runs and nine hits in five innings. He forced in a run in the third when he hit Benintendi on the back with a sinker, two days after Benintendi hit a grand slam off Pittsburgh’s Wil Crowe.

Minnesota’s Nick Gordon, playing his fourth big league game, had a run-scoring single in the second for his first big league RBI.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: Minnesota placed LHP Caleb Thielbar (left groin strain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled RHP Shaun Anderson from Triple-A Saint Paul.

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Kansas City recalled RHP Ronald Bolaños and optioned OF Edward Olivares to Triple-A Omaha. Bolaños was called up for a doubleheader on May 14 but has not pitched for the major league club this season.

UP NEXT

RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-6, 5.90 ERA) starts Friday for Minnesota and RHP Brad Keller (5-4, 5.68 ERA) for Kansas City.

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