Dozier, Singer lead Royals over Twins 4-2 for 3-game sweep

By: Avery Osen, The Associated Press Posted: 5:45 PM CDT Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020 Last Modified: 9:06 PM CDT Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020

Advertise with us

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Hunter Dozier hit a two-run single in his first at-bat since testing positive for COVID-19, prized prospect Brady Singer earned his first major league win and the Kansas City Royals swept the Minnesota Twins 4-2 Sunday.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2020 (2192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hunter Dozier hit a two-run single in his first at-bat since testing positive for COVID-19, prized prospect Brady Singer earned his first major league win and the Kansas City Royals swept the Minnesota Twins 4-2 Sunday.

The Royals won their fourth in a row overall. The Twins lost all three at Kauffman Stadium and have dropped four straight.

Dozier, who hit 26 home runs last year and tied for the big league lead with 10 triples, hadn’t played this season while recovering from the virus. He quickly delivered, putting the Royals ahead 2-0 in the first inning.

Kansas City Royals Hunter Dozier hits a two-run single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

“Each guy just keeps getting better and I’m really impressed,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Dozier was in here pretty early today and we are happy he is back.”

Singer (1-1) allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. A 24-year-old righty, the Royals’ first-round draft pick in 2018 struck out four and walked two in his fourth start in the majors.

“I’m really happy about it, but hopefully it’s just the start,” Singer said. “I felt good the whole outing and my body felt strong.”

The Kansas City bullpen threw four shutout innings, striking out six and allowing just two hits. After Greg Holland and Josh Staumont blanked the Twins, Scott Barlow closed for his first save.

“We’re always ready to go,” Staumont said. “We’ve been fighting so the clubhouse was negative, but we knew we needed to change it.”

Jose Berrios (1-2) went 5 1/3 innings, giving up four runs. He allowed Maikel Franco’s leadoff homer in the sixth.

A wild pickoff throw by Singer helped the Twins score twice in the third, keyed by Max Kepler’s RBI double.

“In general, the offence is probably a little flat,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Why that is, couldn’t give you an exact answer. But I think that’s probably a point of emphasis and something we can focus on.”

Salvador Perez hit a sacrifice fly in the Royals third for a 3-2 lead.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: OF Franchy Cordero was placed on the IL (right wrist sprain) and Dozier was reinstated.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Randy Dobnak (2-1, 0.60 ERA) takes the mound in Milwaukee on Monday.

Royals: LHP Kris Bubic makes his third start of the season, facing Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports