MINNEAPOLIS — After their zombie-like tour of southern California last week, the Twins regarded a visit by the Royals to Target Field to be a classic "get-well" series.
For everybody but Tyler Mahle, apparently.
Mahle, making just his third start since being acquired at the trade deadline, left Wednesday's game in the third inning with "fatigue" in his pitching shoulder, the Twins announced. But their bullpen finished off Minnesota's second straight shutout of Kansas City, and completed a sweep of the Royals, too, with a 4-0 victory.
The Royals allowed a Twin to reach base in almost every inning of the series, they scored in only one of their 27 turns at bat over three days, and they allowed the Twins to reverse their slide in the AL Central standings.
And perhaps the best part of the Royals' hapless visit: They'll be back at Target Field in mid-September.
Now, will Mahle? That's a huge concern for the Twins, who addressed their shortage of reliable starting pitchers by sending three coveted prospects to Cincinnati two weeks ago for the right-hander, then watched him allow only eight hits and four runs in his first 12 innings as a Twin.
But Mahle's velocity was noticeably diminished against the Royals, his fastball mostly stuck around 89 mph. When he began swinging his arms on the mound in clear discomfort during the third inning, manager Rocco Baldelli visited the mound and quickly removed Mahle. The Twins announced an hour later that Mahle would undergo further examination, but the initial diagnosis was "shoulder fatigue."
That uncertainty prevented the Twins from fully enjoying an otherwise smooth ride over the slump-ridden Royals, losers of five of their last six games.
Jose Miranda followed a two-out single by Luis Arraez by launching a two-strike fastball from K.C. left-hander Daniel Lynch three rows deep into the left-field bleachers, giving him a dozen homers in his rookie season and the Twins a 2-0 lead.
They added another run in the second when Royals second baseman Michael Massey threw a double-play ball into left field, allowing Gilberto Celestino to score from first base. And Nick Gordon completed the scoring in the fourth, doubling home Gary Sanchez.
The Twins so dominated Kansas City pitching this week, it was notable when they were retired 1-2-3 in the fifth and sixth innings — the only two times, in their 24 times at bat during the series that no Twin reached base.
Meanwhile, five Twins relievers held the Royals without a run and with few genuine threats, extending a heartening streak. After scoring two runs in the first inning of Monday's game, Kansas City was outscored 17-0 by the Twins over the three games, a 26-inning scoreless streak.
