A bright spot as Kansas City Royals fall to Twins: Maikel Garcia is red-hot leading off

The Kansas City Royals played their best hand against the Minnesota Twins.

In the eighth inning, Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to reliever Taylor Clarke as his ultimate wild card. Clarke was tasked with preserving a tie against the heart of the Twins lineup.

However, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli went to his ace in the hole. He called on Edouard Julien to pinch hit for Kyle Farmer.

The substitution paid huge dividends. Julien hit a go-ahead home run to give the Twins a late lead. Minnesota tagged Clarke for five runs as they cruised to a 8-4 victory at Target Field.

“We have confidence in him,” Quatraro said of Clarke. “He is in a little bit of a rough patch right now, but we’ve seen what he can do on the positive side. We are going to keep working with him.”

Clarke offered a candid response to his relief appearance.

He said he is searching for what made him successful earlier in the season. He knows his role is important after the Royals traded Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers.

“Someone has to step up and I haven’t been able to do that the last two weeks,” Clarke said. “That’s been the part that hurts the most.”

The Twins recorded 14 hits in the game. The Royals kept things close behind a solid outing from young starter and recent call-up Austin Cox. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Young Royals standouts Maikel Garcia and Nick Pratto spearheaded the offense. Both players hit solo homers and snapped the team’s seven-game homerless streak, which KC worked around to take the recent series against the Dodgers.

Pratto went 2 for 5 with two RBIs. In the eighth inning, Pratto hit his sixth home run to tie the score at 3-3. The blast traveled 362 feet into the right-field seats.

The Royals fell to 25-60. KC has lost seven of eight games against the Twins this season.

Follow the leader: Maikel Garcia blasts solo homer

Maikel Garcia is settling into the leadoff spot. He didn’t waste time greeting Twins starter Joe Ryan on Monday night.

In the first inning, Garcia took Ryan deep on the first pitch of the game. He drilled a 92.8 mph fastball into the left-field seats.

The blast traveled 389 feet and registered a 99.1 mph exit velocity. It was Garcia’s third career home run as the Royals took a 1-0 lead at Target Field.

After going 2 for 3 in Monday’s game, Garcia is hitting .733 (11 for 15) in his last four games. He has been the leadoff man for the last three.

“He is always ready to hit,” Quatraro said. “He showed his patience there taking a walk later in the game. Maikel is doing a great job regardless of where we put him.”

This season, the Royals have hit four leadoff home runs.

Former Royals outfielder Michael A. Taylor makes lasting impact

Michael A. Taylor reminded the Royals of his defensive wizardry Monday night.

Taylor, who won a 2021 Gold Glove with the Royals, robbed Nicky Lopez of extra bases in the seventh inning. He made a diving grab in the left-field gap and erased a potential KC rally.

Taylor went 2 for 4 at the plate. He added a crucial insurance run with an RBI-bunt single in the eighth inning.

The Royals traded Taylor to the Twins in January. KC received relievers Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz in the deal.

What’s next: The Royals continue their three-game series against the Twins. Zack Greinke will oppose Kenta Maeda on the Fourth of July. Alec Marsh will make his second MLB start against Pablo Lopez Wednesday night.