(Minneapolis) Quebecer Edouard Julien homered in the first inning and Pablo Lopez took care of the rest by shutting out the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night in a 5-0 win 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 for Luis Arraez, the major league baseball leader in batting average this season.
“Since coming to the Twins, I haven’t tried to be someone else,” the 27-year-old right-hander said. I just tried to show who Pablo Lopez is. »
The Venezuelan gunner struck out 15 in a row from the third to eighth innings, including a six-straight strikeout streak.
“There’s a reason they went after him,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. He has an excellent repertoire. »
The Twins completed the three-game series sweep. They have lost only once in six games.
Lopez was cheered on by fans as he returned to the mound for the ninth. After striking out all three batters in order, he received a shower from his teammates during the celebrations.
Julien got the ball rolling on offense with his second homer of the series and sixth of the season.
The solo slap earned him an 11th major league RBI in 40 games.
Ryan Jeffers also hit a solo homer in the seventh.
A one-run single from Alex Kirilloff started a Twins two-run push in the third. Donovan Solano added a one-run double in the eighth.
