MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Randa helped end a 14-inning game between two tired teams, and he's hoping his slump is finished, too.
Randa keyed a four-run 14th with a leadoff double to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Minnesota Twins 9-5 on Thursday.
"I'm still upset, still frustrated," said Randa, who now has three hits in his last 45 at-bats. "Hopefully some good things will happen. We'll see -- always good to get a break."
Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Royals, who split the four-game series and lead Minnesota by 2½ games in the AL Central.
Cristian Guzman went 4-for-7 for the Twins, who stranded 13 runners and squandered numerous chances to take the lead throughout the 4-hour, 54-minute game.
"A very long ballgame," manager Ron Gardenhire said, "and not very well-played by us."
Johan Santana (2-1) escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the 13th, but the Royals batted around in the next inning.
Randa doubled, Beltran walked, Mike Sweeney sharply singled off Santana's foot to load the bases, and Raul Ibanez hit a looper over a drawn-in Guzman at shortstop made it 6-5.
Ken Harvey added a sacrifice fly against Tony Fiore, and Desi Relaford and Angel Berroa followed with bloop RBI singles.
Only Randa's was a hard hit.
"A win is a win," manager Tony Pena said.
Darrell May struck out the side in the ninth and pitched a perfect 10th and a scoreless 11th. He walked Bobby Kielty leading off the 12th and gave up a single to A.J. Pierzynski.
D.J. Carrasco (3-1) relieved and got pinch-hitter Jacque Jones to ground into an inning-ending double play -- started by a diving stop and throw by Berroa at shortstop.
"Jacque hit a missile," Gardenhire said. "I thought that was going through."
Pierzynski, Minnesota's catcher, tied the game at 3 in the sixth with a triple, and Mike DiFelice -- the Royals' catcher -- also tripled in a two-run seventh.
After Relaford reached on a single, DiFelice hit a gapper off Kenny Rogers that dropped between two Gold Glovers, center fielder Torii Hunter and Doug Mientkiewicz.
Mientkiewicz, the Twins' regular first baseman, played right field for the second straight game because of injuries to Bobby Kielty (strained ribcage) and Jones (strained quadriceps). Dustan Mohr was in left for Jones.
J.C. Romero entered and walked two before balking in a run that made it 5-3.
Rogers allowed five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six.
Guzman tripled against Jason Grimsley and scored on a groundout by Mientkiewicz in the seventh. Luis Rivas and Guzman hit two-out singles in the eighth off Sean Lowe, and May walked Mientkiewicz and Koskie, tying the game at 5.
"Unfortunately we didn't come out on top," Rogers said about three hours after he was removed. "It would've been worth the wait."
Miguel Asencio, part of Kansas City's on-the-rise rotation that doesn't have a starter over the age of 25, equaled a season-low five hits. He gave up three runs and three walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings.
The Royals had a 2-0 lead before most people sat down for lunch after Tucker doubled and Beltran homered with one out.
It was nearly time for dinner when the remaining fans -- only 2,000 or so from a paid crowd of 17,219 -- cleared out.
They didn't exactly see a crisp, quality game, but they were treated to another close one between two teams that very well could be continuing to fight for the Central down the stretch.
Many of the Twins have compared the Royals to themselves in 2001, a young team that emerged after a long string of losing seasons and was in first place for much of the year.
"They're just a scrappy team," said Todd Sears, who hit an RBI single in the third for the Twins. "They battle until the end."
Notes
- The teams combined for 15 walks, four hit batters and two wild pitches.
- Hunter -- in a 4-for-27 slump and batting just .215 -- stranded five runners. He also made an error that let the Royals take a 3-1 lead in the fourth and gave them a double play in the 14th with a base-running mistake. Hunter's grounder forced Denny Hocking out at second and Relaford's throw sailed over first baseman Mendy Lopez's head, but Hunter made a turn toward second and was tagged out trying to retreat.
The Associated Press News Service
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