Minnesota Twins vs. Kansas City Royals Picks and Prediction, Sunday, September 7, 2025

By: Paul Biagioli

The Minnesota Twins (62-79) and the Kansas City Royals (72-69) will finish out their three game series in the American League on Sunday afternoon in this Twins vs. Royals prediction. The first game of this series was played on Friday with the Royals winning 2-1, the second game was played on Saturday night (Note: This article was published before Saturday’s results). Minnesota will start Bailey Ober (5.23 ERA) with Kansas City sending out Michael Lorenzen (4.54 ERA). Keep reading to see our Twins vs. Royals prediction, and check our all of our best Free MLB Picks .

Minnesota Drops Five Straight

The Minnesota Twins are reeling, and have lost each of their last five games heading into Saturday. The Twins got swept at home by the White Sox over four games in embarrassing fashion, dropping four straight games against the worst team in the American League. They also lost the first game of this series against KC, as they continue to struggle against their divisional opponents. In their game on Friday against the Royals, Minnesota got their only RBI from Johnny Pereda from the eighth spot in the lineup.

Pereda is their 29-year-old catcher who has been searching to find a landing spot in the MLB over the past three seasons. He has played with the Marlins, Athletics and Twins over the past three seasons, and is trying to stay with the Twins as their backup catcher. He provided the only offense for the Twins on Friday, as their leadoff hitter Byron Buxton, went 0-4 from the top of the lineup. Buxton was an All-Star this season and leads the team with 29 home runs and 72 RBIs as their centerfielder. Buxton is batting .271 from the top of the lineup. Trevor Larnach bats second as their DH, he has 16 home runs and 56 RBIs on the year.

Bailey Ober will make his 24th start of the season as a 30-year-old right-hander. He has a 4-7 record, with the team going 1-4 overall in his last five starts. His ERA is 5.23 to go with 99 strikeouts against 27 walks. In his last start, Ober gave up four runs in five innings in a loss to the White Sox.

Royals Fight for Playoff Berth

The Kansas City Royals are in a tight battle for the last playoff spot in the Wild Card race. They are only one game out of that final spot, but would need to pass the Rangers and the Mariners to claim the postseason berth. They just lost two of three at home against the Angels and are now hosting the Twins after winning the first game of this series. In that game, the Royals got some bad news as Bobby Witt Jr. left the game with back spasms.

Witt is their top offensive weapon and would have likely won the MVP Award in the AL last season if it weren’t for Aaron Judge. The Royals will have to make up for his loss of production, which should start with power hitter Vinnie Pasquantino. He is their first baseman who leads the team with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs, while batting .260 from the third spot in the lineup. Maikel Garcia has the best batting average on the team at .294, he bats third in the lineup while taking either shortstop or third base. Garcia has 16 home runs and 66 RBIs on the season.

Michael Lorenzen will make his 23rd start of the season as a 33-year-old right-hander. He has a 5-9 record with the team winning in four of his last five games. His ERA is 4.54 to go with 105 strikeouts against 34 walks. In his last game, Lorenzen gave up two runs in six innings in a loss to the Angels.

Minnesota Twins vs. Kansas City Royals Pick

Moneyline pick for Twins vs. Royals

Royals (4 units)

The Minnesota Twins are not in good shape, as any team that gets swept by the White Sox is not feeling good about themselves. To make matters worse, it was a four-game series, with all four being played in Minnesota. The Twins only scored one run in their first game against the Royals, with Byron Buxton going 0-4 as their top offensive player. Minnesota is starting Ober, who has led the Twins to a loss in 12 of their last 13 games. Lorenzen is starting for the Royals, and he has been doing much better as he has led the Royals to wins in four of his last five games. The Royals are still in the playoff hunt and will get a win here.

Take the Royals to win.

Over/Under Pick for Twins vs. Royals

Under (4 units)

These two pitchers have been in their starting rotation all season, and will combine to limit scoring in this low scoring battle. The first game of this series finished with a 2-1 finish, going well under the number. This game will have a similar output, especially with Lorenzen on the mound who has been hot recently. Lorenzen has led the Royals to wins in four of his last five starts, including two scoreless showings against the Diamondbacks and White Sox. The Twins are starting Ober, and while he has not been winning games recently, he has not given up more than four earned runs in any of his last six games.

Take the under.

Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals Pick and Prediction September 6th, 2025

By: Seamus Cole

Two AL Central teams will square off as the Royals host the Twins on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. EST in Kauffman Stadium. Check out our Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals pick and prediction here!

Minnesota went through a fire sale in July and as a result, they have dropped to a 62-79 record, good for 2nd to last in the American League. They have lost five in a row and seven of ten heading into this contest. Meanwhile, the Royals are fighting hard for a wild card spot, as they trail one game behind the Mariners with a 72-69 record. However, Texas is also in the mix, as they are half a game ahead of the Royals currently. Kansas City is 5-5 in their last ten and need to do better if they want to obtain a playoff spot, starting with a win here. Minnesota is favored at a -125 money line while the total is set at 8.5 runs. Can the Royals earn a home upset win?

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Twins Back to Tanking

Minnesota couldn’t get enough done on offense and fell to the Royals by a score of 2-1. Jhonny Pereda provided the lone RBI for the Twins and nobody had more than one hit on the day. Pablo Lopez did a fine job as the starter, throwing six innings and giving up two runs on six hits. Unfortunately, it was enough to get the loss despite the flawlessness of the bullpen.

The Twins went through a massive sell-off this trade deadline, and over 1/3 of their starting roster departed from the team. Chris Paddack was the first casualty, as he was sent to Detroit for Randy Dobnak and Enrique Jimenez. Later on, Jhoan Duran was traded to Philadelphia for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel. The day of the trading deadline was the most hectic for the Twins, as they traded seven players. Will Castro went to the Cubs for Sam Armstrong and Ryan Gallagher. Griffin Jax went to Tampa for Taj Bradley. Carlos Correa was sent back to Houston for Matt Mikulski. Harrison Bader was shipped to Philadelphia for Geremy Villoria and Hendry Mendez. Louis Varland and Ty France were sent to Toronto for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas. Brock Stewart was traded to the Dodgers for James Outman. Finally, Danny Coulombe was sent to the Rangers for Garrett Horn. The Twins were not really a contender, so I respect the Twins and their acceptance of that fact by trading as much as they could. How they rebuild will be a different story, though.

Perhaps Minnesota’s best chance at winning comes in the form of Joe Ryan taking the hill as the starter. Interestingly, he was one of the few pieces not traded despite many rumors swirling around in July. The righty has a 3.08 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP through 27 appearances (26 starts). He has thrown 155 innings thus far and has struck out 174 batters with a 13-7 record. He has pitched twice against Kansas City this season. In his first start, he gave up only two hits and no runs in seven innings and in his second start, he gave up only four hits and one run through five innings.

Kansas City Closing the Gap

The Royals earned a critical 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins to keep their playoff hopes very much alive. Maikel Garcia was the hero in this one with a homer and two RBI in the 3rd inning. The pitching was borderline flawless for the Royals, with Michael Wacha giving up only one earned run on four hits while striking out five and walking two as the starter. The bullpen behind him gave up only one hit and two walks after that.

Kansas City was not the headline destination for any key players at the deadline, but they did shake up the roster ever so slightly. Julio E. Rodriguez was acquired from Seattle (not the one you’re thinking of) for cash. Randal Grichuk was then acquired from Arizona for Andrew Hoffman. Later on, Freddy Fermin was sent to San Diego for Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. Pittsburgh traded Bailey Falter to Kansas City for Callan Moss and Evan Sisk as well. The Royals also got long-time Giant Mike Yastrzemski for Yunior Marte to close things up.

Stephen Kolek will take the hill as the Royals inch closer and closer to a potential playoff spot. This year, the righty has a 4-5 record with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP to go with 59 strikeouts through 85.2 innings and 15 starts. Kolek has not yet faced the Twins this season, but he has only had four starts since the beginning of July due to injury. His last start against the Tigers was solid, going six innings while giving up only four hits and one run, striking out three and walking none in the process.

Twins vs. Royals Pick

Spread Pick for Twins vs. Royals Pick

Minnesota Twins Money Line (-125)

As much as I would like to take the Royals as home underdogs here, Ryan has been the model of consistent quality throughout the season. The All-Star is back to his usual self after back-to-back poor outings and these two teams are actually 5-5 in their last ten against each other. Minnesota’s offense has been more productive than Kansas City’s this year, and I expect them to outduel the Royals on offense with Ryan on the mound for Minnesota. The Twins are averaging 4.5 runs per game over their last six, including their most recent 2-1 defeat, so I have confidence Minnesota can do enough on offense to secure a win here.

Over/Under Pick for Twins vs. Royals

Under 8.5

Joe Ryan will continue to excel with his starts, and he has had massive success against Kansas City this season. None of the moves made at the deadline by the Royals scares me away from Ryan. Kolek has had a decent season thus far as well and his last start against a better offense in Detroit leads me to have more faith that the under will hit here. Kansas City has averaged only 3.82 runs per game this season and they are 81-59 on the under overall.

Salvador Perez’s three-run homer highlighted a five-run first inning against Minnesota Twins All-Star Joe Ryan, who had never previously lost to Kansas City, as the host Royals rolled to an 11-2 victory on Saturday night.

Kansas City starter Stephen Kolek (5-5) yielded two runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over seven strong innings in his second start since arriving from the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline on July 31.

Ryan (13-8) allowed nine earned runs over 60 1/3 innings while going 8-0 over 10 career starts against the Royals — all Minnesota victories — entering this contest. However, Kansas City nearly erased that misery in the first.

He issued back-to-back walks to Mike Yastrzemski and Maikel Garcia, then Vinnie Pasquantino lined an RBI double to right field. Perez followed with the big blow well over the wall in left-center for career homer 298 and 25th this season.

Minnesota’s ace right-hander issued another walk to Adam Frazier, who scored on Nick Loftin’s first of three hits — a double into the left field gap.

Ryan’s night ended after two innings, matching a career low, with all five runs earned, while walking a season-high four against the Royals (73-69), who have won three straight to continue their American League wild-card push.

Ryan reportedly was dealing with an illness and appeared agitated with the strike zone of first-year home-plate umpire Tyler Jones. Ryan has yielded at least five runs in three of his last four starts for the Twins (62-80), who have lost six straight.

The Twins got their only runs in the third against Kolek, beginning with a double from James Outman, who scored on Byron Buxton’s triple to right-center field. Luke Keaschall’s RBI groundout made it 5-2, but they couldn’t further damage Kolek.

Kansas City added three runs in the bottom of the third, all with two out. Kyle Isbel roped an RBI double and scored via a single by Garcia. Pasquantino then added a run-scoring hit.

Carter Jensen’s first major league hit in the fourth went for an RBI double that gave the Royals a 9-2 edge. After Loftin’s run-scoring double in the sixth, Jensen’s second RBI in his third major league game came via a groundout later in the inning.

–Field Level Media

Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (41) smiles during a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Aug 13, 2025, Bronx, New York, USA. Yannick Peterhans/NorthJersey.com

The Kansas City Royals are making a push to reach the final wild-card position in the American League, but they might not have star Bobby Witt Jr. to help the cause for the immediate future.

With Witt’s status uncertain due to back spasms, the Royals will seek their third straight win when they host the Minnesota Twins and ace Joe Ryan on Saturday night.

Though Kansas City (72-69) is 3-4 in the first seven games of a nine-game homestand, it enters play Saturday one game behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the AL’s final wild-card spot. The Royals needed only Maikel Garcia’s two-run homer in a 2-1 triumph over the Twins (62-79) in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

However, the Royals’ win was partially overshadowed by the seventh-inning exit of Witt, one of baseball’s most complete players, who is batting .294 with 21 homers and 77 RBIs this season. Though Witt is 2-for-16 in the past five contests following his 18-game hitting streak, the Royals can’t afford to be without him for any extended amount of time.

“It’s a spasm right now,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “It locked up pretty good on him.”

With Witt, Kansas City has yet to beat Minnesota in 10 starts made by Ryan (13-7, 3.08 ERA), who is an exceptional 8-0 with a 1.34 ERA in those outings. This season against the Royals, he has two wins in two appearances, giving up one run on six hits with 10 strikeouts and a walk in a combined 12 innings.

After giving up 11 runs over nine innings in back-to-back starts, Ryan closed August by yielding five hits and striking out eight over seven scoreless innings of Minnesota’s 7-2 home win over the potent San Diego Padres.

“Joe went right at them. He had his good, explosive stuff,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think that was one of the better outings you’re going to see in Major League Baseball. That’s what very good pitchers in this league are able to do.”

With a chance to set a career-high win total on Saturday, Ryan also is seven innings away from breaking his personal best of 161 2/3 from 2023.

Garcia and Mike Yastrzemski are each 4-for-13 with a home run vs. Ryan. However, Kansas City teammates Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino are a combined 5-for-36 against him.

With struggling veteran Seth Lugo the latest Royals starting pitcher to land on the injured list, Stephen Kolek (4-5, 3.99 ERA) will make his second start since being acquired from the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline in July. The right-hander allowed one run, four hits and no walks and struck out three during through six innings of a spot-start and 3-1 victory over Detroit on Aug. 30.

Kolek did not figure into the decision.

“I’m pumped to help the team out any way I can,” he told the Royals’ official website.

This will be his first meeting against the Twins, who have lost five games in a row and 10 of their past 13. However, Minnesota’s Trevor Larnach is batting .367 during a 16-game on-base streak.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Maikel Garcia hit a two-run homer and Michael Wacha pitched 5 2/3 strong innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Friday night.

Garcia hit Pablo López’s first pitch high above the left-field bullpen after Vinnie Pasquantino singled with two out in the third inning for a 2-0 lead. Pasquantino and Garcia each had a pair of hits.

Brooks Lee and Jhonny Pereda hit consecutive doubles in the fifth inning for the Twins’ run. Pereda made his Twins debut behind the plate.

The Twins have lost five straight and have baseball’s worst record since the July 31 trade deadline at 11-22.

Wacha (9-11) allowed a run on four hits and two walks, striking out five. He has allowed fewer than three runs in nine of his 10 career starts against the Twins.

Carlos Estévez earned his major league-best 38th save with help from a sliding catch by center fielder Kyle Isbel.

Bobby Witt Jr. left the game after six innings due to low back spasms.

López (5-4) returned from injury for his first start in three months, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings, striking out four. López was placed on the 15-day Injured List on June 4 with a right shoulder strain.

Key Moment

Initially called out on a force at second, Garcia was ruled safe when the Royals challenged that shortstop Lee had dropped the ball before touching second.

Key Stat

Through the first seven games of their current homestand, the Royals are 2 for 26 with runners in scoring position while scoring 10 of 14 runs via home runs.

Up Next

Twins RHP Joe Ryan (13-7, 3.08 ERA) opposes Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (4-5, 3.99) on Saturday.

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