Michael Lorenzen pitched seven scoreless innings, MJ Melendez hit a home run and the Royals beat the Angels 3-0 on Wednesday night in Kansas City, Missouri, for their sixth win in seven games.
The Twins also won, defeating the Padres in San Diego 11-4, leaving the team in a tie for the third wildcard spot in the AL.
The Red Sox, who beat the Astros 4-1, are 3½ games behind the Twins and Royals.
The Royals spoiled the season debut of Johnny Cueto (0-1), a 17-year veteran who helped Kansas City win the 2015 World Series.
Cueto hadn’t pitched in the major leagues since Sept. 27 of last year with the Marlins. He signed a minor league contract with the Angels in July and was recalled from Triple A Salt Lake on Wednesday morning. He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks in 6 innings and left the mound to the applause of the Kansas City crowd.
Lorenzen (7-6) allowed four hits, two walks and one hit batter and struck out five times. He allowed only two runners to get into scoring position.
John Schreiber threw a scoreless eighth inning and Lucas Erceg managed a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his sixth save and fourth with the Royals.
With their first home series win in a month, the Royals (71-56) are now within 2½ games of AL Central leader Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Matt Wallner’s three-run home run capped a seven-run quarterfinal for the Twins.
Minnesota ended a three-game losing streak and avoided a sweep in San Diego. The Twins finished a seven-game road trip 4-3. The Padres lost for just the seventh time in 29 games.
Minnesota starter Simeon Woods Richardson (5-3) benefited from the Twins’ 18-hit attack to win his second straight start. The 23-year-old right-hander shut out the Padres for four innings, allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Woods Richardson seemed a little out of shape early in his 29-pitch first inning.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said it was significant that Woods Richardson was able to recover from his rocky starts.
“The most important moment of the whole game was him getting through the first inning and finding a way to keep them at bay,” Baldelli said. “He was looking for it a little bit, but ultimately he found a way to make some throws and get us out of there.”
“That kind of catapulted us and the at-bats followed and the at-bats were good all day.”
The Twins took a one-run lead in the third inning before winning the game in the fourth inning when they sent ten batters to the plate, scored seven runs and extended their lead to 8-0.
With one out, Minnesota hit two singles and two doubles with runs scored by Austin Martin and Willi Castro. Royce Lewis added an RBI single before Wallner’s hit, his eighth of the year, slammed into the right-field seats.
The Twins adjusted after learning that the Padres’ Matt Waldron was limiting his knuckleball throws.
“We were too patient the first time,” said Wallner. “After that, we became much more aggressive and started fighting earlier.”
Larnach and Edouard Julien each had four hits. Carlos Santana was the only starter without a hit for the Twins. Jackson Merrill and Donovan Solano hit home runs for the Padres.
