[Biggp07]

👑 Wednesday, August 20 • Game 3 👑

Montgomery set the pace—then Green finished it with authority.

Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins | Target Field
Weather: Partly Cloudy (69 degrees) | Wind: left-to-right at 12 mph | Attendance: 38,932 | First pitch: 12:10 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't disappointed in Eflin's start last night. It's the timing that bothers me more than the slump—because your ace is allowed to wobble, but August doesn't care about "allowed." It only cares about standings.

So, today's ask was simple and sharp: win the getaway game and fly home with a series split. I told Jordan Montgomery to take this one as far as he could and give our bullpen a breather before Cincinnati. No late-inning roulette. No extra pitches we don't need. Just clean innings and clean decisions.

Minnesota Twins Series Snapshot

Game 3 in Minneapolis always carries more weight than it should. You win it, and you leave town on top of the division math. You lose it, and the plane ride feels longer than it is.

We took Game 1, got punched in Game 2, and today was our chance to walk out with a 2–1 series split and keep Minnesota a half-step behind us instead of letting them grab our belt loop.

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• LHP Jordan Montgomery (KC) vs. RHP Pablo López (MIN)

This was a clinic versus a clinic.

López gave Minnesota eight innings of near-flawless control—8.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K—the kind of start that usually wins.

Montgomery matched him with a different flavor of dominance: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, and never let the Twins string pressure into a real inning.

Then we handed the last six outs to Chad Green, and he finished it like a pro—2.0 IP, and his 2nd save in 2 tries.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Twins (Game 3)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st–5th (Two starters, one mood):
Both clubs spent five innings trying to find oxygen. Nobody could. The game moved fast and tight—every baserunner felt like a potential headline, and neither starter gave the other side anything easy.

Top 6th (We manufacture the first run — 1–0 KC):
This is how you steal a game from an ace.

• Kyle Isbel walked, then stole second—pressure immediately.

• Lane Thomas put the ball in play and reached on an error (E3), and Isbel raced to third.

• Then Maikel Garcia did the job: a deep fly to center, Isbel tags and scores, no throw.

No hit needed. Just speed, a mistake forced by pace, and a productive out.

Bottom 6th–8th (Monty stays calm):
Montgomery kept Minnesota from turning their lineup over into trouble. A walk here, a single there—but nothing that turned into momentum. He owned the middle of the game.

Top 9th (We scratch one more — 2–0 KC):
This was our biggest inning of the day, and it still wasn't loud.

• Thomas singled, moved up on contact, and

• Nick Loftin singled, and we sent Thomas—SAFE at the plate on the throw home.

We loaded the bases after that and didn't add more, but that one run mattered like a brick wall.

Bottom 9th (Green closes through traffic — final 2–1):
Minnesota didn't fold.

• Lewis singled, Riley doubled, and the Twins forced the plate.

• A ground ball and a rushed play at home brought in a run (runner safe on the fielder's choice attempt).

But Green didn't panic. He got the final outs, stranded the tying run, and ended it with the kind of finish we've been trying to bottle all year.
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Final

Royals 2, Twins 1
Royals (3 H, 0 E) | Twins (5 H, 1 E)

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec            IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
Montgomery, J.     W (14-6)       7.0    3    0    0    3    3    0    97   4.17
Green, C.          SV (2)         2.0    2    1    1    0    3    0    34   8.64

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

• Montgomery gave us a true stabilizer start: 7 scoreless with the game in his hands the whole way.

• We won this game with pressure baseball, not volume: Isbel's walk + steal + tag-up run is exactly how you win a tight one on the road.

• The 9th-inning add-on mattered: Loftin's RBI single turned Green's ninth from “one swing ties it" into "they still have to earn two."

• Green is earning a lane fast: 2.0 innings for the save, and he didn't blink even when the inning got loud.

• Series split secured—mission accomplished: we leave Minnesota on a winning note and keep the divisional posture in our favor heading into Cincinnati.


Around the League

The league's deadline dust is officially settled now—no more "maybe" rosters. This is the stretch-run version of every club, and from here on out, the standings won't move on reputation… only execution.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 122



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