(Minneapolis) Quebec’s Edouard Julien scored in the first inning and Pablo Lopez took care of the rest as he knocked out the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night in a 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Lopez (5-5) allowed four hits on his first career shutout.
He had a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Lopez was acquired from the Miami Marlins in January by Luis Arraez, Major League Baseball’s leader in batting average this season.
“Since I joined the Twins, I haven’t tried to be someone else,” said the 27-year-old right-hander. I just tried to show who Pablo Lopez is. »
The Venezuelan striker hit 15 straight from the third through eighth innings, including a streak of six consecutive strikeouts.
“There’s a reason they went after him,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro. He has an excellent repertoire. »
The Twins completed the three-game series sweep. They only lost once in six games.
Lopez was applauded by the fans as he returned to the mound for the ninth. After striking out all three batters in order, he received a shower from teammates during celebrations.
Julien got the ball rolling on offense with his second home run of the series and sixth of the season.
The solo slap earned him an 11It is RBI in Major League Baseball, in 40 games.
Ryan Jeffers also hit a solo home run in the seventh.
A one-run single by Alex Kirilloff started a two-run push by the Twins in the third. Donovan Solano added a one-run double in the eighth.
