Vargas, Royals looking for vengeance for last week's Minnesota series
The Kansas City Royals have won every series this season with one exception. They now have a chance to exact some revenge against the Minnesota Twins.
Jason Vargas hopes to atone for a dreadful performance and pitch the Royals to a seventh win in eight home games Tuesday night.
Kansas City has shown last season's playoff success was no fluke, winning 10 of its first 13 games for the franchise's best start since 2003.
The Royals have been particularly good at home, opening their Kauffman Stadium schedule with a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and taking two of three from Oakland over the weekend before winning the first game of this series, 7-1 on Monday.
Edinson Volquez pitched seven innings and Kendrys Morales had two hits and two RBIs as Kansas City evened the season series after dropping two of three at Minnesota last week.
The Royals' vaunted bullpen tossed two more scoreless innings, lowering the majors' best ERA to 0.69.
Vargas (1-1, 6.00 ERA) hopes his relievers won't need to come into the game nearly as early as they did in Thursday's 8-5 loss at Minnesota. The left-hander had his shortest start since 2011, allowing five runs and 10 hits over three-plus innings.
That dismal outing came after Vargas went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in four starts against the Twins last season. He tossed seven innings in a 5-0 victory April 18, 2014, in his only home appearance versus Minnesota.
Joe Mauer is batting .400 (12 for 30) against Vargas, while Torii Hunter improved to 15 for 45 with six doubles after he had a pair of hits in three at-bats last week.
The Twins failed to win their fifth in six games overall and dropped to 1-6 on the road. They've totaled 14 runs in those seven contests while batting .192.
Leadoff batter Danny Santana returned to the lineup after getting a day off Sunday and went 1 for 4 to raise his average to .200. He also struck out twice and has fanned a team-high 15 times in 45 at-bats.
"A lot of young players when they're not producing they feel like they're hurting the team and then they try that much harder," Twins manager Paul Molitor told MLB's official website. "Sometimes you have to let the game come to you a little bit more."
Tommy Milone (2-0, 2.08) seeks to win his first three starts for the second time in three years. The left-hander was outstanding in his season debut and did enough to earn the win Thursday against Kansas City. He surrendered a two-run homer to Lorenzo Cain in the first before settling down to allow three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Milone, who started 3-0 for Oakland in 2013, is 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA in seven starts against the Royals.
Salvador Perez, batting .435 with six RBIs at home this season, is 6 for 14 with two doubles in their matchups, while Mike Moustakas is just 1 for 12.
Already missing closer Greg Holland (pectoral) and outfielder Alex Rios (hand), the Royals feared second baseman Omar Infante could also be headed to the disabled list with a left groin strain sustained Sunday. Infante, though, said he felt better and manager Ned Yost said he could be used in an emergency Tuesday.
Kansas City has won 15 of 20 at home against Minnesota.
