On an afternoon the Royals sought their first series sweep of the season, they struggled to muster offense against the Twins. They were held to two hits through six innings, limited to a couple of runs and otherwise neutralized by one-time Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi.
But when Drew Butera, the very same backup catcher the Royals were forced to use as a reliever at Kauffman Stadium two weeks ago, connected his bat for a hit in the seventh inning on Sunday, the Royals’ inability to create opportunities faded into the background.
Butera’s go-ahead hit bounced in front of a diving Jake Cave.