KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ian Kennedy threw 111 pitches over eight scoreless innings and got a no-decision. Kelvin Herrera threw eight pitches in one inning and picked up the win.

Alcides Escobar hit an RBI single in the ninth over a five-man infield and the Kansas City Royals edged the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 Sunday for their fourth straight win.

Kennedy pitched two-hit ball and struck out 10 over eight innings as Kansas City sent the Angels to their fifth loss in a row.

“My fastball command was down,” Kennedy said. “It was up when I needed it to. All my misses were down. When I needed to go up, it was there.”

Kennedy didn’t allow a hit until C.J. Cron’s double with two outs in the fifth. Cliff Pennington singled with two outs in the eighth for the Angels’ other hit.

“That’s a tough lineup to navigate through,” Kennedy said. “They have two of the best three-and-four hitters you’ll face in a year with (Mike) Trout and (Albert) Pujols.”

Kennedy struck out 10, his 13th double-figure strikeout game, and walked two. He entered the game with an 0-4 record and 6.55 ERA in five career appearances against the Angels.

“He threw the ball well, he kept the ball down, and obviously he kept us off-balance,” Pujols said. “That’s pretty much it. Both sides threw the ball well.”

Salvador Perez led off the ninth with a single against Blake Parker (0-1), and pinch runner Raul Mondesi stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.

After pinch hitter Mike Moustakas walked, Cam Bedrosian relieved and Paulo Orlando fouled out. Escobar followed with his game-winner.

With the Angels using a five-man infield and two outfielders playing shallow, Escobar lofted a single to right-center over Trout’s head.

“I was trying to elevate the ball,” Escobar said. “I’m trying to get a fly ball in that situation. I’m looking for one pitch and I hit the ball good.”

Herrera (1-0) threw a flawless ninth.

Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs, who had an 8.71 ERA in his first two starts, threw seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and striking out nine. He allowed three hits and walked one in the first two innings.

“I don’t know if impressive is the right word, but he definitely made some adjustments,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “I think that if he can carry that rhythm over, you’re going to see a guy that can do what he did today on a consistent basis. Getting his pitches in the zone; his process was great. He changed speeds. So, that was a terrific outing.”

In the past four games, Royals starting pitchers Jason Vargas, Danny Duffy, Nathan Karns and Kennedy have a combined 0.63 ERA, allowing two runs on 13 hits over 28 2/3 innings.

PERFECT ON CHALLENGES
The Royals, under the guidance of replay specialist Bill Duplissea, are 5 for 5 in challenges this year. Duplissea won 27 of 39 challenges last year, a 69.2 percent success rate that topped the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: RHP Huston Street (right lat strain) is playing catch, but is likely three weeks to a month away from returning. Street was injured in his first spring training outing.

Royals: OF Jorge Soler (left oblique strain) had a setback in his rehab, feeling tightness after batting practice Saturday. He has been backed off a couple of days from activity.

UP NEXT

Angels: RHP Jesse Chavez will start Monday at Houston as they continue this trip. He is 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 career games against the Astros.

Royals: Off Monday before hosting San Francisco to open a two-game series Tuesday. Royals RHP Jason Hammel will start the first game.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jason Vargas carried a shutout into the eighth, the Royals finally generated some early offense and Kansas City held on to beat Oakland 3-1 on Thursday night and snap an eight-game skid against the A’s.

Vargas (2-0) scattered four hits and a walk over 7 2/3 innings, striking out eight, in his second straight crisp performance. The left-hander only allowed one runner to reach second base in his longest outing since Aug. 13, 2014, when Vargas shut out the Athletics at Kauffman Stadium.

Kelvin Herrera served up a homer to Rajai Davis and a double to Jed Lowrie in the ninth, but bounced back to retire the next three batters and earn his first save.

Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez drove in runs off A’s starter Jesse Hahn (0-1) in the first, and Brandon Moss added a lazy sacrifice fly in the third. The three runs matched what Kansas City’s scuffling offense had managed in losing the first two games of the series.

Hahn settled down to last six innings, allowing six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

Vargas missed most of last season following Tommy John surgery, but he pitched well in the handful of starts he made late in the year, leaving the Royals optimistic about his spot in the rotation.

He also doubled down on his conditioning while his elbow was recovering, and arrived to training camp leaner and more athletic. And that paid off in the seventh inning, when Vargas deftly leaped off the mound to snare a hard bounder and start a double play to escape his only real jam.

Things weren’t nearly as tidy for the A’s, who committed two more errors in the series finale. They came into the game tied for the American League lead with nine, and have committed at least one error in seven consecutive games — matching their longest streak from last season.

The Royals became the last team in the big leagues to commit an error of their own when Alcides Escobar booted a grounder with two outs in the eighth. Vargas was lifted afterward to a standing ovation, and Joakim Soria promptly got Marcus Semien to ground out and end the inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Oakland RHP Sonny Gray (lat strain) threw two 15-pitch stints to batters prior to the game and had no issues. A’s manager Bob Melvin said Gray will throw three innings Monday at extended spring training and could rejoin the Oakland rotation by the end of April.

YOST’S TAKE

Royals manager Ned Yost said he’s not worried that fans are antsy about his club’s poor start. “It just shows when they panic, they care about you and they want to win,” he said. “That’s fine.”

UP NEXT

Oakland RHP Kendall Graveman will try to start the season with three straight wins when he faces Houston on Friday night. It’s the start of a 10-game homestand for the A’s.

Kansas City sends LHP Danny Duffy to start a three-game series against the Angels on Friday night.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andrew Triggs pitched six shutout innings, Jed Lowrie drove in three runs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3 Wednesday night.

Triggs (2-0) scattered four hits and a walk, striking out three. It was the former Royals farmhand’s second solid start this season, having allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings against the Angels.

Triggs combined with Ryan Dull to extend the Royals’ scoreless-inning streak to 19 before Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer drove in runs off reliever Liam Hendricks in the eighth. Raul Mondesi homered in the ninth.

The A’s have won eight in a row over the Royals, six of those coming at Kauffman Stadium — and most of them in romps. Oakland has outscored the Royals 53-15 in the games played in Kansas City.

Jason Hammel (0-1) gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks before getting yanked with two outs in the fifth.

Travis Wood and Chris Young allowed four more runs in another embarrassing show by the Royals’ bullpen, which hardly resembles the group that led them to the 2015 World Series title.

Then again, their performance was moot the way the offense was sputtering.

Triggs got an inning-ending double play to escape the first, then stranded a runner at third in the second before cruising through the next four innings. By the time the Royals squandered a leadoff double in the fourth, they had gone 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position for the second straight game.

OAKLAND RAISES TARP

The A’s announced the tarps covering third-deck seats at the Coliseum will be removed ahead of a 10-game homestand beginning Friday night against Houston. The move frees up about 12,000 seats that cost $15 each, bringing the total capacity to 47,170. The tarps have been used since 2006.

ALEX IN RIGHT

The Royals’ Alex Gordon started in RF for the first time since 2010 and only the fourth time in 1,282 big league games. The reason was to get Brandon Moss into the lineup in LF, where he’s more comfortable, and Cheslor Cuthbert’s bat in the lineup as DH. Moss and Cuthbert combined to go 0 for 8.

ROSTER MOVES

The Royals recalled LHP Scott Alexander and RHP Jake Junis from Triple-A Omaha to reinforce their struggling bullpen. Alexander pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, while Junis loaded the bases in the ninth before getting a double play to end it.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Kansas City OF Jorge Soler (left oblique strain) hit in the cage before the game and could take live batting practice Friday. That would put him on pace to begin a rehab assignment next week.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Jesse Hahn makes his first start of the season in Thursday night’s series finale. He pitched six innings in relief in a 10-5 loss at Texas last week.

Royals: LHP Jason Vargas makes his fifth start since Tommy John surgery in 2015. He earned his first win since June of that year in a 5-1 victory at Houston last week.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Oakland starter Jharel Cotton kept getting interrupted during his warmups Monday, first by Melissa Ethridge rocking out the National Anthem, then by a flyover from a B2 bomber, and finally by an emotional tribute to the late Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura.

It was the only time Cotton ever looked out of sync.

The young pitcher breezed through seven innings, allowing a pair of singles and three walks, and got just enough offense from Khris Davis’ two-run homer to help the Athletics spoil Kansas City’s home opener with a 2-0 victory at sun-splashed Kauffman Stadium.

“He was outstanding. He seemed so calm and poised,” said Cotton’s catcher, Stephen Vogt. “For him to keep his focus and be ready to go — we had a really good game plan and he executed it beautifully.”

Cotton (1-1) turned the game over to Santiago Casilla, who struck out the side in the eighth. Sean Doolittle then put runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth, but he bounced back to strike out his former teammate and good friend Brandon Moss for his first save of the season.

It was the seventh straight win for the A’s over Kansas City.

Asked about Cotton, Royals manager Ned Yost said simply: “He was dynamite.”

Davis provided all the offense Oakland needed when he followed a leadoff single by Ryon Healy with his fourth homer of the year. The shot to right field on a 3-0 pitch from Ian Kennedy (0-2) barely scraped over the wall, but it gave Cotton the only help he needed against a punchless Kansas City lineup.

“I was falling behind on him, trying to get him to chase a little bit. Then I tried to get a fastball by him,” Kennedy said. “The wind was blowing out so hard and ball hit that high, it just took off.”

The home opener had a somber feeling even before the Royals’ bats went quiet, starting with a tear-filled tribute to Ventura. The young pitcher, an instrumental part of back-to-back World Series trips, was killed in an offseason car crash in the Dominican Republic.

Kennedy pitched well on the mound where Ventura once dazzled, allowing only two hits and two walks over six innings. But the mistake he threw to Davis proved to be decisive.

Cotton, who was battered by the Angels in his season debut, effortlessly sliced through the Kansas City order. He got a double play to end the second, struck out the side in the fifth, then induced a pair of fly outs in the sixth after an error on a double-play ball gave the Royals life.

Cotton proceeded to breeze through the seventh before handing the game to his bullpen.

“We’ve seen him pitch really good games, but the pressure of that game, full house, sometimes the nerves can get to you,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said, “but he was on it right from the start.”

REMEMBERING YORDANO

The Royals left Ventura’s locker empty except for a framed jersey, and memorials to him were just about everywhere inside Kauffman Stadium. His mother, Marisol Hernandez, threw out the ceremonial first pitch after a saxophonist standing on the mound played a rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

STATS AND STREAKS

The Royals were shut out in their home opener for the second time, losing to the Twins 2-0 in 1971. They had won their last four home openers. … The A’s seven-game win streak against Kansas City matches the longest in franchise history. … Royals RHP Peter Moylan pitched two perfect innings, extending his scoreless streak to seven. … Doolittle’s save was his first since June 23, 2016.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Oakland RHP Sonny Gray (right lat injury) threw a bullpen session Monday and will throw to hitters Thursday, manager Bob Melvin said. Gray hopes to be ready by the end of the month. … RHP Chris Bassitt (elbow surgery) reported no problems after throwing to hitters on Sunday at Class A Stockton, but Melvin said he’s not sure what the next step will be in Bassitt’s rehab.

UP NEXT

Oakland: RHP Andrew Triggs tries to build on a strong season debut when the series resumes after a day off. Triggs allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 5-1 win over the Angeles.

Kansas City: RHP Jason Hammel allowed three runs on six hits in five innings against Minnesota in his first start for the Royals last week. He gets the start at the K on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros blared Michael Jackson hits and were feeling celebratory vibes on Sunday after snapping a skid with another extra innings win.

Jake Marisnick hit a tying home run off Kelvin Herrera in the ninth inning and Evan Gattis drew a bases-loaded walk from Matt Strahm in the 12th, helping the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 Sunday and stop a three-game losing streak.

It was Houston’s second walk-off win in five days following a 13th-inning three-run homer from George Springer in a 5-3 victory over Seattle on Wednesday.

“I love this team and I love our character, our grind,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We don’t work at all cylinders all the time, and I think we showed that this week and still came out with a winning homestand. Whatever words — grit and grind and character — the guys are into it.”

Brian McCann walked on 10 pitches, and Gattis took a high-and-inside, full-count pitch for ball four. Gattis said he had never ended a game with a walk before, but he credited Marisnick’s homer as the bigger swing in momentum for the team.

“The Marisnick home run was huge,” Gattis said. “It really breathed life back into us and it was good to get a win.”

Marisnick’s homer sneaked into the first row of the left field Crawford Boxes near the foul pole. He said he wasn’t sure it had enough to top the yellow line when he hit it.

“I honestly couldn’t see it,” Marisnick said. “I hit it right into the lights and I didn’t know where it went. I knew I hit it good with a little topspin. Luckily, I got enough of it.”

Springer hit his 12th leadoff homer in the first and third in seven games this season.

Brandon Moss homered against Chris Devenski (1-0) in the ninth to give the Royals a 4-3 lead.

Springer reached on an infield single leading off the 12th against Strahm (0-2), Alex Bregman sacrificed, Jose Altuve was intentionally walked and Carlos Correa hit into a forceout that advanced Springer to third.

Devenski struck out seven in four innings, allowing one run and three hits. Devenski became the second reliever in MLB history to start a season with consecutive outings of four or more innings with seven or more strikeouts, joining Liam Hendriks (2013).

“I’m going to run out of ways to describe Chris Devenski’s performances when he comes in like this,” Hinch said. “His pitch repertoire is perfect for these types of situations. He’s not going to go four innings and 60 pitches every outing, but he’s as valuable as any play that happened in the game today. Chris Devenski is exceptional.”

The Astros, who started 3-0 for the first time since 2001, moved back over .500 at 4-3.

Nathan Karns, making his first start and second appearance for the Royals, gave up one run and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. Karns was acquired in an offseason trade from Seattle for outfielder Jarrod Dyson.

“I thought he did a great job,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “First two innings were a little erratic, gritty, but he settled down in the third and pitched great from that point on.”

Astros starter Lance McCullers struck out 10 in seven innings, allowing three runs and six hits.

Salvador Perez tied it in the second when he became Kansas City’s first player to homer in four straight games since Billy Butler in 2011. The franchise record of five was set by Mike Sweeney in 2002.

Paulo Orlando avoided McCann’s tag to score on Raul Mondesi’s bunt in the fifth, and Mike Moustakas homered in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. Marwin Gonzalez’s two-run homer off Travis Wood tied the score 3-3 in the seventh.

SAVED BY THE NET

The Astros expanded the netting behind home plate this offseason to extend over the dugouts and improve fan safety. In the 12th inning, McCann swung and lost the handle of his bat, which flew right into the netting above the first base dugout.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (0-1) is to start Kansas City’s home opener against Oakland on Monday. Kennedy lost at Minnesota last week, allowing three runs, three hits and five walks in five innings.

Astros: RHP Charlie Morton (0-0) starts at Seattle after getting a no-decision at home against the Mariners, when he gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.

— Associated Press —

HOUSTON (AP) — Cheslor Cuthbert hit a solo homer early and Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez both went deep during a six-run eighth inning, helping the Kansas City Royals rally for a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.

The Royals trailed 2-1 and managed just two hits off Dallas Keuchel before Luke Gregerson (0-1) took over for the eighth. Alex Gordon put Kansas City ahead with a two-run double, Lorenzo Cain hit an RBI single and then Hosmer’s first homer this season extended the lead to 6-2. Two pitches later, Perez sent an 88 mph fastball into the seats in left field to chase Gregerson.

Danny Duffy (1-0) allowed eight hits and two runs over seven innings for the win, and the Royals took their second straight from Houston after being swept in a three-game series at Minnesota to open the season.

The bullpen collapse ruined a solid start by Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner. He has yielded just four hits and two runs over 14 innings in his first two starts after struggling last season.

Brian McCann gave Houston a 1-0 lead when he sent Duffy’s first pitch of the third inning into the right field stands.

The Astros had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth after a walk by Carlos Correa and singles by Carlos Beltran and Yuli Gurriel. Marwin Gonzalez’s single scored Correa to make it 2-0, but McCann grounded into a double play to limit the damage.

Keuchel had allowed just one hit when Cuthbert homered to left to start the fifth inning and cut Houston’s lead to 2-1.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Collin McHugh, who started the season on the 10-day disabled list after dealing with what he called “dead arm” this spring, will not throw for the next six weeks after injuring his pitching elbow during a rehab start on Thursday. McHugh pitched just one inning at Triple-A Fresno before feeling tightness leaving the game. There is no timetable for his return, but he will be re-evaluated after six weeks.

UP NEXT

Royals: Right-hander Nate Karns will make his first start and second appearance of the season in the finale on Sunday. Karns allowed four runs, two hits and two walks in a relief appearance in a 9-1 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday.

Astros: Right-hander Lance McCullers (1-0) is scheduled to make his second start on Sunday. McCullers yielded five hits and one run in six innings of a 2-1 win over Seattle on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three consecutive wins has restored some confidence for the Minnesota Twins, an early boost for their final record.

After all, dropping their first nine games last year undeniably paved the way for a major league-leading and club-record 103 losses.

Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco hit consecutive RBI doubles in the seventh inning as the Twins dented Kansas City’s bullpen again and beat the Royals 5-3 Thursday to sweep the season-opening series.

“It beats the alternative, as we know all too well from just a year ago,” manager Paul Molitor said. “But to get a couple wins under our belt here early, it’s got to make those players feel awfully good about what they’re doing.”

The Twins are 3-0 for the first time since 2007. The Royals have their first 0-3 start since 2001. This was Minnesota’s first sweep of Kansas City in 18 series between them since April 2014. The Royals went 53-23 against the Twins over the last four seasons.

“We don’t care who’s standing across from us. We’re going to go out there and take what’s ours,” said Max Kepler, who had an RBI double in the fifth and reached base three times.

Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas homered off Twins starter Kyle Gibson to take Jason Hammel off the hook in his Royals debut, but new left-hander Mike Minor (0-1) surrendered the two-runs in the seventh inning, when the Royals were outscored 14-0 in the series.

Taylor Rogers (1-0) worked the seventh for the victory, and Brandon Kintzler pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.

“Everybody’s not walking on eggshells around here,” said Twins right-hander Ryan Pressly, who escaped a one-out, bases-loaded situation in the sixth. “We’re going to keep this going, and it’s going to be a fun year.”

The Royals walked 23 batters in the series.

“That’s unheard of,” Hammel said. “That’s just absurd. We’ve got to throw strikes.”

Sure enough, a one-out walk by Castro, already his sixth this season, was in the middle of a two-run second inning by the Twins that gave Gibson an early edge. Polanco had an RBI single during the rally.

“I think guys are just trying to get in a groove right now,” Minor said. “Beginning of the year. I don’t really look at it too much.”

The Royals allowed 14 runs in eight relief innings in the series. The Twins got 10 scoreless innings from their bullpen, with five hits, two walks and 11 strikeouts.

“It’ll iron itself out. We didn’t have this issue in spring training, so it’s just a little bump in the road for us,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

WHIFFING BUXTON

Byron Buxton fanned with the bases loaded to finish the sixth and is 1 for 14 with an infield single, a walk and seven strikeouts. Molitor said he’s not going to move the 2012 second overall draft pick out of the third spot in the batting order.

ANOTHER DEBUT

Hammel began his 12th major league season, with his sixth different team. He signed a $16 million, two-year contract in February with the Royals, who needed a replacement in the rotation following the death of Yordano Ventura in a Dominican Republic car crash. Hammel gave up six hits and four walks in five innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Limited to 27 games last season by injuries to his thumb and knee, Moustakas is 4 for 13 with two homers to start 2017.

Twins: Perkins threw a bullpen session Wednesday, but progress in regaining strength in his surgically repaired left shoulder has been limited to “baby steps,” general manager Thad Levine said.

UP NEXT

Royals: Stay on the road with a visit to Houston for a three-game series starting Friday, with LHP Jason Vargas scheduled to start. Vargas returned from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery to make three starts at the end of last season. The Astros will send RHP Mike Fiers to the mound.

Twins: Travel to Chicago for a three-game series beginning Friday, with RHP Phil Hughes making his first start since June 2. A batted ball broke the femur bone in his left leg before Hughes was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome that required removal of a rib. For the White Sox, LHP Derek Holland will take the mound.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins were halfway through the first month of the season before they picked up their second win last year, a putrid start that weighed on their shoulders for the rest of a miserable season.

A fresh start has done wonders for the Twins and slugger Miguel Sano.

Eduardo Escobar homered and drove in four runs and Sano added a bases-loaded triple to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Hector Santiago (1-0) gave up one run and four hits and struck out four in five innings for the Twins. After starting last season 0-9 to set the stage for a 103-loss season, the Twins are 2-0 for the first time since 2007.

“Everybody is playing happy,” said Sano, who homered in the season opener and just missed two more on Wednesday. “It’s a game. It’s got a name: game. Everybody try to play normal. Nobody like in a hurry or something like that. No pressure. Only play and win.”

Ian Kennedy (0-1) gave up three runs and three hits with five strikeouts and five walks in five innings for Kansas City. Paulo Orlando drove in the lone run for the Royals, who walked nine Twins batters on the day.

“You’re just putting yourself in a position for them to put big numbers on the board when that happens,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Sano broke the game open with his triple that almost cleared the high wall in right-center field and Escobar’s three-run drive just reached the seats in left field.

“I’m not a home run hitter, so as soon as I hit the ball I started hustling like I usually do,” Escobar said. “Once I got to second base and saw my teammates celebrating I was able to slow down and enjoy it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Alex Gordon was hit on the right hand by a pitch from Santiago in the first inning, but remained in the game after being examined by team athletic trainers. He went 0 for 3.

PITCHING FOLLIES

Kennedy couldn’t find the strike zone, walking three in the Twins’ three-run second inning. That followed a season opener on Monday in which Royals pitchers walked seven Twins hitters, a troubling sign for a team that had its title defense done in last season in large part to a lackluster starting rotation.

The bullpen has been the bigger problem this season, with Nate Karns and Matt Strahm giving up all six runs in the seventh.

“Just starting off on a bad foot, really,” Karns said. “I don’t think there’s anything that can point to why we’re not doing really well right out of the gate. We’ll tighten it up and get it going tomorrow.”

HOT HANDS

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer might have had the play of the day in the sixth inning when Eduardo Escobar sent a line drive screaming toward him. Hosmer got his glove on it, but the ball popped out. Hosmer snared the ball with his throwing hand, but had to do a bit of a juggling act before securing it and stepping on first to double up Juan Castro.

BUXTON SEARCHING

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is being counted on to have a breakout season after looking overmatched at times at the plate last season. Manager Paul Molitor is hitting Buxton third in the order, a spot generally given to one of the team’s top hitters.

The early returns have not been promising. He has struck out six times in 10 at-bats with just one infield single.

SMALL CROWD

After selling out the opener on Monday, the Twins announced a crowd of 15,171 for Game 2 on an overcast day in which the temperature at first pitch was a cool 47 degrees. It’s the smallest crowd announced at Target Field and indicative of a fan base skeptical of the team’s chances after minimal changes were made to a roster that lost 103 games last season.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel will make his debut for the Royals in the series finale against the Twins.

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson starts for Minnesota.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For the Minnesota Twins, the memory of that 0-9 start and 59-103 finish last year was still uncomfortably fresh.

They couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the new season than this.

Miguel Sano homered and drew the third bases-loaded walk during a dreadful seventh inning for Kansas City’s bullpen, as Ervin Santana and the Twins beat the Royals 7-1 on Monday for their first opening victory in nine years.

“We didn’t try to overemphasize anything about today other than the fact that we’ve been on a little bit of a mission in spring training to try to come out and play a little bit better,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Santana (1-0) gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out three over seven innings, aided by two diving catches of sinking line drives by center fielder Byron Buxton that highlighted a stellar afternoon of defense by the Twins.

Mike Moustakas homered leading off the fourth for the Royals, but Sano came back in the bottom of the inning with a tying 425-foot drive into the second deck off Danny Duffy. Six straight balls by Santana to start the seventh gave Molitor pause, but he responded to the mound visit with three straight outs to finish the frame.

“I try to get him to stay positive,” Sano said. “Let’s go. You’re the man over there.”

After signing a $65 million, five-year contract to assume the role as the ace of the rotation, Duffy’s first career opening day start was a dazzler with eight strikeouts over six innings with three hits and three walks.

Then manager Ned Yost turned to Matt Strahm (0-1) for the seventh, and the Royals unraveled while the Twins rallied with two bunts and four walks.

“Just one bad game. We have 161 left,” Duffy said. “Our bullpen is great, and I have ultimate confidence in them.”

The key play was Max Kepler’s hustle to beat out a sacrifice attempt for a single, following a replay reversal of the initial out call. Brian Dozier was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs, and Robbie Grossman, Joe Mauer and Sano all forced in runs with unintentional walks.

Jason Castro tacked on a two-run single, and Jorge Polanco followed with an RBI single as Molitor’s new-look, new-age lineup with Buxton batting third and Mauer in the cleanup spot worked well for the first try.

“Just keep grinding out at-bats,” Mauer said. “That was pretty fun out there.”

UNFAMILIAR FALTER

After finishing in the top five in the major leagues in relief ERA in each of the last two seasons, using a lights-out bullpen to win the World Series in 2015, Royals relievers had a rather ominous debut. Peter Moylan struck out Buxton with the bases loaded, his only batter, but Strahm and Travis Wood each allowed four runners while retiring only one batter.

“That’s not Woody. I didn’t anticipate that. He’s a strike thrower,” Yost said. “He’s a veteran strike thrower. He’s not a guy that gets frazzled.”

FOR STARTERS

The Twins won their first game of the season for the first time since 2008, delighting a sellout crowd announced at 39,615. This was only the second time in eight years since Target Field opened that the schedule put them in Minnesota to start the season.

“There’s just something about opening day,” Molitor said, “that I think kind of tingles everybody’s spine a little bit differently than the rest of the season.”

Mauer made his 13th opening day start, tying Harmon Killebrew for the most in Twins history.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Paulo Orlando was in RF for Jorge Soler, who began his first season with Kansas City on the 10-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle. Soler, who did some light work in the field before the game, is eligible to return on Sunday.

Twins: Santana, who reached 30-plus starts last year for the eighth time in his career, became Minnesota’s second two-time opening day starter of the last 10 seasons. Carl Pavano was the other, in 2011-12.

UP NEXT

Royals: After the scheduled off day on Tuesday, RHP Ian Kennedy will take the mound for Kansas City in the middle game on Wednesday afternoon, followed by new RHP Jason Hammel in the series finale.

Twins: LHP Hector Santiago comes up next in the rotation for Minnesota, with Kyle Gibson on tap for Thursday afternoon.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – Kansas City Royals outfielder Jorge Soler likely will begin his first season in Kansas City on the disabled list after straining his oblique in a minor league game.

Soler, acquired from the Chicago Cubs in December for closer Wade Davis, hurt himself on a swing Sunday. Soler went for an MRI on Monday, which revealed a Grade 1 strain. He’ll rest for five to seven days before slowly resuming baseball activities, meaning he’ll miss the Royals’ opener next Monday at Minnesota.

Soler missed nearly two months last season with a pulled left hamstring. He was sidelined for three weeks in 2015 with a left oblique injury, plus another month with a sprained ankle.

Royals manager Ned Yost also said Raul Mondesi will open the season as the starting second baseman. Mondesi won the job over Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert.

“Nothing is impossible,” Mondesi said.

Yost told the 21-year-old Mondesi the news before an exhibition game against Oakland. Mondesi began the day hitting .378 this spring with a .622 slugging percentage, three home runs and two doubles in 19 games.

“For anybody who watched, it was definitely an obvious choice,” Yost said.

Yost said when spring training began the prevailing thought was Mondesi would need more grooming in the minors after hitting .185 in 47 games for the Royals as a rookie last year. He often looked overmatched at the plate, striking out 48 times in 135 at-bats.

— Associated Press —