KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rookie right-hander Brady Singer fought his way through five innings, including taking a ball hit with an exit velocity of 100 mph off his throwing hand, to earn his first major-league win Sunday afternoon.
The Royals scored early and relied on their stingy bullpen for four innings as they completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 4-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals (7-10), who extended their win streak to four games after losing six in a row, hadn’t taken a series from the Twins since September 2018 and hadn’t swept a series against any team since April 2019.
“We’re having so much fun just coming to the park right now,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said.
Infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier went 1 for 4 and drove in two runs in his return to the starting lineup after a bout with COVID-19.
Jorge Soler went 2 for 3 and Whit Merrifield scored two runs. Maikel Franco homered for the fourth time this season.
Having Dozier back Sunday seemed to provide a lift for the suddenly surging Royals.
“Hunter was in here pretty early today,” Matheny said. “He wanted to make sure he got in his work. You could hear different players saying, ‘All right, here we go.’”
Singer (1-1) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four. His first big-league victory came in his fourth start for the Royals.
“I hope there’s many more to come, but I’ll never have this first one again so I’m going to enjoy it,” Singer said.
Greg Holland (one inning), Josh Staumont (two innings) and Scott Barlow (one inning) combined for four innings of scoreless relief for Kansas City.
“Josh was just fantastic, ball jumping out of his hand, controlling the strike zone,” Matheny said.
The Twins (10-6) entered the series with the best record in the American League but have now lost four in a row, including Friday-Sunday in KC.
The Royals have a day off Monday before beginning a road series against the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday.
