Twins Rally Past Royals Thursday

The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 Thursday night at Target Field in the opening game of a four-game series. With the win, the Twins' magic number to clinch the Central Division is six games.

Minnesota found itself trailing 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, despite holding a 4-3 lead after the third. Mitch Garver tied the game with a solo home run, then Miguel Sano came through with an RBI double to give the Twins a 6-5 lead that they would not relinquish.

Sano finished 2-3 with a home run, Garver scored three runs and Nelson Cruz finished 2-4 with a home run and five runs batted in.

The Twins will host the Royals again Friday night in Minneapolis. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. on WJON.