The game stayed tied until the ninth inning, when Kansas City broke through against Minnesota's bullpen for an 8-6 victory at Target Field.
J. Rojas delivered the key blow with a two-run single in the ninth, driving in Lane Thomas and Tyler Tolbert to give the Royals the lead they would not relinquish. Matt Strahm earned the win with a scoreless sixth inning, while Alex Lange recorded his second save.
The teams traded runs throughout the first six innings in a back-and-forth affair. Kody Clemens powered Minnesota's offense with two home runs, including a 414-foot blast in the third and a 379-foot shot in the fifth. Victor Caratini added three hits and two RBI, including a game-tying homer in the sixth.
Taylor Rogers took the loss for Minnesota, allowing two runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. His ERA now stands at 4.63. Seth Lugo started for Kansas City and allowed five runs over five innings, striking out four.
Kansas City snapped a losing streak and improved to 24-38, while Minnesota fell to 29-34. Taylor Rogers is seven games away from 600 career games played.