Trevor Plouffe’s seventh-inning triple relieved some of the tension around Target Field, given that the Twins didn’t have a hit until that point. But ultimately, it produced the same number of runs as Torii Hunter’s fourth-inning home run: Zero.
Plouffe was stranded on third by a couple of ground outs, Hunter’s blast was grabbed by Alex Gordon as it left the park, and the Twins fell out of first place in the AL Central for the first time since May 30 by falling to the Royals, 2-0.