Minnesota Twins Defeat Failing Royals—Still, a Sweep Is a Sweep

Critics will tell you that the Twins' sweep of the reeling Kansas City Royals was the least they could have done, and on some level they are right.

The Royals are now winless in their last 11; this was their third consecutive series in which they were swept. Nevertheless, no sweep is ever a sure thing, and the Twins very nearly snapped the Royals losing skid the night before.

A night after the Royals and their fans watched as a five-run ninth inning lead turned into an extra-inning loss, Kevin Slowey made sure this game was never in doubt.

Slowey dominated the Royals, holding them to just six hits and one run in his complete-game gem. Until the ninth inning, the Royals had no more than one baserunner in any inning, which made mustering a serious threat nearly impossible.

Until Alex Gordon's ninth-inning RBI double, Slowey had a streak of 14 scoreless innings stretching back to his previous outing against Detroit. Hopefully, this is an indication that Slowey has regained the control that made him such a compelling prospect.

Slowey's great night was complimented well by the offense. Carlos Gomez and Alexi Casilla combined to reach base eight of their 10 plate appearances. Surprisingly, they also combined for just one run scored.

Five runs were more than enough for Slowey to finish off the hapless Royals hitters.

The Twins will continue their road trip with a stop in the Bronx. Glen Perkins has an excellent chance to lock down his rotation spot ahead of Scott Baker's return from the DL.

All Perkins needs to do is put a lock on the potent Yankees' offense. That's easier said than done, but Perkins has allowed just three earned runs in his last 14 innings.

The Good

Kevin Slowey: 9IP, 6H, ER, 0BB, 6K, CG. He nearly had the shutout, but Alex Gordon spoiled it. Even so, it was a great outing against a subpar lineup. Consistency is the key for Kevin Slowey. So as always, his most important outing is his next one.

Carlos Gomez: 4-5, R, 2B, 2RBI. Gomez was thrown out twice stealing, but made up for the poor baserunning by driving in his 21st and 22nd runs of the year. His 4-5 night pushes his average just under .300. Ideally, Gomez will be above the .300 mark by the middle of June, and will continue to improve his plate discipline and drive up his OBP.

The Bad

Brendan Harris: 0-3, RBI. His sac fly opened the scoring in the Twins' three run third. Harris also turned two double plays, but the 0-3 pushes his average down to .256.

The Ugly

Justin Morneau: 0-3, 2BB, 5LOB. After last night's heroics, Morneau was tapped out. He still got on base twice via the walk, but he neither scored nor drove in a run. That's not exactly the kind of production you want when your top two hitters are on base 80 percent of the time.