Fueled by bottom of order, Royals vie for continued success vs. Twins

Kyle Isbel will look to continue his torrid stretch at the plate on Thursday afternoon as the host Kansas City Royals vie for a sweep of their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins.

Isbel totaled four hits in his first three games before collecting four more in Kansas City's 13-9 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. He has homered in both games of this series for the Royals and is batting .571 for the season.

Jonathan India hit his fifth career grand slam to highlight Kansas City's 15-hit attack. He joined Jac Caglianone, Minnesota native Isaac Collins and Isbel -- the Royals' Nos. 6-9 hitters -- in combining to go 10-for-16 with eight RBIs and nine runs.

The offensive surge came hours after the Royals placed closer Carlos Estevez on the 15-day injured list with a left foot contusion. Estevez, who had a career-high 42 saves last season, sustained the injury after he was hit by a line drive in the ninth inning of Kansas City's 6-2 setback to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

"He's going to continue to throw, probably at 60 to 75 feet, so he doesn't have to put too much tension on it or pressure on it, as I should say," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Estevez. "And then, as the symptoms resolve, he'll get on the mound and then he'll build up a progression. He'll have to go out and pitch."

The Twins cut into an 11-run deficit by scoring eight runs over the final three innings on Wednesday, forcing Quatraro to summon Lucas Erceg into the game. The latter retired the only two batters he faced to secure his second save of the season.

"We really like Lucas in the back end," Quatraro said before the game. "But if there is a huge spot in the eighth, you know, he's going to be in there for that as well. He's well aware of that."

Kansas City left-hander Cole Ragans (0-1. 9.00 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday's game against Minnesota right-hander Taj Bradley (0-0, 2.08).

Ragans struggled mightily in his season opener Friday, permitting four runs on six hits -- including three homers -- in four innings of a 6-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Ragans, 28, is 2-2 with a 1.85 ERA in six career appearances (all starts) vs. the Twins.

Bradley allowed one run on three hits and struck out nine in 4 1/3 innings in his season debut against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. He departed after 92 pitches in his team's 4-1 victory.

A small sample size, to be certain, but Bradley acknowledged he's taking a better mental approach to the game.

"It's just me being hard-headed in the past," he said. "I stuck to what I was good at and stuck to what I knew, you know. If it's different, it gets scary, so you don't even want to walk down that path.

"What I've done in the past is what I felt I solidified on. Going into the offseason, I figured I'd take different routines, different practices, and bring it into this year."

Bradley, 25, is 1-1 with an 0.96 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) against the Royals.

The Twins will conclude their season-opening six-game road trip on Thursday.

--Field Level Media