The first game did not go according to plan. The original idea was to allow Ian Kennedy to open and then to have Jakob Junis act as bulk man. Unfortunately, when Junis went to warm up he developed tightness in his lower back and was ruled out of the game. So the Royals had their third bullpen game of this young season. They didn’t win either of the first two and they weren’t going to win this one either.
The key inning for the first half of the day was the third. Kennedy and Twins starter Jake Odorizzi had matched scoreless innings and the Royals were forced to go to Gabe Speier.