Massey's 422-Foot Blast Lifts KC Past Minnesota, 2-1

Michael Massey hit a 422-foot home run to right center in the seventh inning to give Kansas City a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish. Noah Cameron made sure that was more than enough, spinning eight innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts.

Minnesota drew first blood in the fourth when a Caratini grounder into a double play — shortstop to second to first — proved costly for the Twins in a different way: Bell scored on the play, giving Minnesota a 1-0 edge. It was the kind of run that looks fluky in the moment, and it turned out to be exactly that. Kansas City answered immediately in the fifth when Isbel lofted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Massey to knot the game at one. The Royals had tied it without a clean hit, which looks, in hindsight, like a sign of things to come.

Then came the seventh. Massey stepped in and launched one 422 feet to right center, a solo shot that pushed KC in front 2-1 and swung the home win probability from 60% to 79% — an 18-point lurch that effectively ended Minnesota's realistic path back into the game. Massey finished 2-for-3 with the homer, an RBI, and two runs scored. That's the story of the night, full stop.

The pitching framing around that offense is what makes this result feel decisive rather than lucky. Cameron was dominant — 8.0 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts. Minnesota managed just four hits in the entire game across its lineup, with Ryan Jeffers going 1-for-4 and Royce Lewis 1-for-3 as the only Twins to register anything notable at the plate. Dean Kremer gave Minnesota five innings and allowed 3 hits and 1 earned run before exiting; Jeff Hoffman followed with a clean inning of two strikeouts. None of it was enough. Cameron's eight-inning performance appears to be one of the better individual pitching outings of the season for either of these clubs, and Steven Cruz closed it out with a perfect ninth. Kansas City wins, 2-1.