MINNEAPOLIS — It felt like time was running out on Max Kepler's tenure with the Twins about a month ago. He was sitting against lefthanded pitching. He was booed as his batting average dipped below .190. There were daily calls on social media about moving on from him.
Kepler, one month later, is rewarding the franchise's faith in him.
He staked the Twins to a four-run lead Tuesday with a pair of two-out hits, including a three-run homer in the third inning, during a 9-3 victory against the Royals at Target Field. Kepler has eight hits in his last four starts and he's batting .304 over his last 61 plate appearances.
Royals starter Zack Greinke opted to pitch to lefty-hitting Kepler with first base open and two outs in the third inning, with the righthanded Jose Miranda behind him, despite falling behind in a 3-1 count. Kepler was way ahead of an 81-mph slider, pulling it foul. The next pitch was a sinker and Kepler hammered it over the center-field wall for a three-run homer.
Greinke hopped a couple of times in front of the mound after Kepler connected with the elevated sinker. It was the 141st career homer for Kepler, tying him with Michael Cuddyer for 13th place on the Twins' all-time homer list (since 1961).
For as much as the Twins have talked about improving as an offense, this was a situation they needed to capitalize. Carlos Correa opened the third inning with an opposite-field single through the right side of the infield for his 1,000th career hit. Correa immediately called for the ball after stopping at first base and he received a standing ovation from 25,033 fans when his milestone was announced on the video board.
Donovan Solano followed Correa with a line drive double that drifted over the head of center fielder Kyle Isbel, giving the Twins two runners in scoring position with no outs. Byron Buxton lined out to third base and Alex Kirilloff couldn't drive in a run with a groundout. That brought up Kepler, who hit an opposite-field ground ball single in the first inning.
After Kepler's homer, the Twins followed the same blueprint with solid two-out hitting and some longballs.
Donovan Solano and Byron Buxton hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning off Greinke, who exited in the sixth inning with right shoulder discomfort. Solano was still working his way through the dugout in his "Land of 10,000 Rakes" vest when he saw Buxton launch the next pitch into the left field seats. Solano immediately took off the vest and ran to the other side of the dugout, so he could prepare to hand it to his teammate.
The Twins had six straight batters reach base with two outs in the seventh inning, which included a two-run single through the infield from Alex Kirilloff.
Kenta Maeda, buoyed by early run support, completed a season-high seven innings with nine strikeouts. He surrendered a two-run homer to Bobby Witt Jr. in the fourth inning when he was pitching with a four-run lead but otherwise didn't allow a runner to reach second base.
Maeda, who had excellent command of his splitter and slider, retired his final eight hitters. When he struck out his last batter, he let out a yell as he jumped off the mound. It was his first seven-inning start since July 22, 2021, and he smiled as manager Rocco Baldelli shook his hand in the dugout.
The Twins have an 8-1 record against the Royals this season.
