Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins: Final Score & Recap

The Minnesota Twins walked off with a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on July 28, 2026, at Target Field, with the DiamondIQ model's estimate moving from a 62 percent pre-game home win probability all the way to 100 percent by game's end. The contest was a tight, low-scoring affair through eight innings, with Minnesota's only run coming in the fourth before Kansas City seized a 2-1 lead with a two-run sixth off Seth Lugo. That lead held deep into the night, keeping the Royals in control heading into the bottom of the ninth.

What unraveled Kansas City in the final frame was a single swing by Royce Lewis. Facing closer Alex Lange, Lewis laced a walk-off triple that shifted win probability by plus-82.1 percent, the single most decisive moment of the game and the engine behind Lewis finishing as the night's top performer at plus-84.5 WPA and plus-2.0 RE24. The Twins scored two runs in the inning to complete the comeback. The damage against Lange stood in stark contrast to Minnesota's earlier missed opportunities, most notably Kody Clemens grounding into a double play in the eighth at minus-19.0 percent WPA and Ryan Kreidler striking out to open the ninth at minus-14.9 percent, both of which nearly sealed the Royals' win before Lewis intervened.

On the pitching side, Steven Cruz led all pitchers with plus-23.3 WPA, navigating a critical stretch before the ninth, while Seth Lugo contributed plus-22.4 WPA despite surrendering the go-ahead runs in the sixth. Kody Funderburk added plus-9.8 WPA in relief. Offensively, Brooks Lee and Jac Caglianone provided supplementary support at plus-14.2 and plus-12.9 WPA respectively, though the night unquestionably belonged to Lewis, whose triple turned a near-loss into a Twins victory.