The Royals were aware. They hadn’t swept a team yet this season. They hadn’t won three games in a row.
On Sunday afternoon, they finally checked those boxes.
A 2-1 win over the Twins at Kauffman Stadium secured the Royals’ first sweep, and they now have a three-game winning streak for the first time heading into Monday’s off-day.
“I told them, ‘Nobody can keep us from winning three straight until August,’ so we had a little fun with it,” manager Matt Quatraro quipped. “These guys, you see it every day, they work, they come out and play hard. So to be rewarded with some wins, it’s something that’s really nice to see. Especially going into an off-day, nothing tomorrow, these guys deserve it.”
After Kansas City put up big offensive numbers the first two games of this series, the bats quieted down in the finale, relying on Freddy Fermin’s solo homer in the second and Maikel Garcia’s RBI double in the third.
But Sunday was all about pitching.
Royals starter Ryan Yarbrough put on a vintage performance with seven innings of one-run ball, lowering his ERA in July to 2.19 with 15 strikeouts and just two walks across four starts. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out five Twins while working around seven hits.
“There are 50-something games of opportunity,” Quatraro said. “Of Major League at-bats. Of Major League innings. Of the ability to grow for all of us, staff and players, everybody.
“What I expect is what I’ve seen from an effort standpoint, a work standpoint.”