Royals officially eliminated from postseason

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The World Series champions have failed to make the postseason for the fourth year in a row.

Kendrys Morales and Alex Gordon keyed an eighth-inning rally and Kansas City beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Wednesday night, but the Royals were still knocked out of playoff contention.

The defending World Series champs were eliminated when Baltimore beat Toronto 3-2.

Morales' ground-rule double to right scored Jarrod Dyson, who had doubled and stole third. Gordon's single scored Whit Merrifield and pinch-runner Billy Burns.

Taylor Rogers (3-1), the fourth of five Twins pitchers, took the loss after allowing three runs, three hits and two walks while retiring only one of the six batters he faced.

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Joakim Soria (5-8) worked a scoreless eighth to pick up the victory. Wade Davis got his 27th save in 30 chances.

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Royals left-hander Jason Vargas tossed five shutout innings, allowing four hits, striking out six and walking one. He threw 53 strikes in 87 pitches, leaving with a 2-0 lead in his third start since having Tommy John surgery in 2015.

Rookie Kevin McCarthy, however, did not hold the lead for long. McCarthy yielded a two-run two-out home run to Kennys Vargas in the sixth. After McCarthy walked the next two batters, Peter Moylan was summoned to face John Ryan Murphy, retiring him on a comebacker.

Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer, his 25th, off Ervin Santana in the third. The Royals did not get another hit until Dyson's one-out double in the eighth.

ATTENDANCE DECLINE

The Wednesday attendance of 23,437 pushed the Royals' season total to 2,445,361 after 77 home dates. After 77 Kauffman Stadium dates last year, the Royals had pulled 2,564,750 through the turnstiles, a decline of 119,389.

ZERO AT KC

The Twins dropped to 0-9 at Kauffman Stadium. They have never finished a season winless at Kansas City.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Twins: 1B Joe Mauer (hamstring injury) was not in the lineup, but manager Paul Molitor said he was available to pinch hit.

Royals: OF Lorenzo Cain, who has played only one game in September because of left wrist inflammation, will not play again this season. "There is no need to push him," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson, who went to the University of Missouri, will make his 11th career start against the Royals.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in three outings against the Twins this season.

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