Eric Hosmer's 11th-inning single lifts Kansas City Royals to 5-4 win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Eric Hosmer could not imagine walking out of Kauffman Stadium with a loss Friday after delays totaled 3 hours, 15 minutes, before going extra innings.

Hosmer, who was the only Kansas City starter without a hit, delivered the winning single in the 11th inning as the Royals outlasted the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday night.

"It's 2:32 (a.m.) right now," Hosmer said. "You'd be walking out of the park feeling pretty bad if we lost with the earlier game at 6 (Saturday). It was really crazy in general. It was raining pretty hard out there.

"We waited a long time. We continued the game and it was still raining pretty good. It was tough conditions. It stopped and we had to figure it out one way or another."

Chien-Ming Wang (6-0), the seventh Royals pitcher, picked up the victory. Twins rookie J.T. Chargois, who gave up two hits and a walk in the 11th, absorbed the loss.

Cheslor Cuthbert opened the 11th with an infield single and Lorenzo Cain drew a walk before Hosmer lined a single over right fielder Max Kepler's head.

The Royals are 13-5 in August and have won six in a row.

If the three-hour-plus rain delay was not enough, there was a 12-minute delay for a light malfunction in the sixth inning.

The Royals had Alcides Escobar at third base with one out in the sixth but failed to get him home.

In the seventh, the Twins loaded the bases with three walks but Kepler's fielder's-choice grounder ended the inning.

The Royals took advantage of Twins rookie right-hander Jose Berrios' inability to find the strike zone to score three runs in the second.

Salvador Perez snapped an 0-for-14 slump to start the inning with a one-out single. Berrios walked Alex Gordon on four pitches. Alcides Escobar's wicked bouncer struck third baseman Trevor Plouffe in the jaw and ricocheted into left field as Perez scored and Gordon wound up at third. Plouffe was examined by the Twins trainer but remained in the game.

Berrios hit No. 9 batter Raul Mondesi with a pitch on an 0-2 count to load the bases. Berrios proceeded to walk Jarrod Dyson and Cuthbert on eight straight pitches to force home Gordon and Escobar. He avoided further trouble by inducing Cain to roll into an inning-ending double play.

Brian Dozier got a run back for the Twins with his 28th home run, matching his career high, with a 422-foot blast to center on an Edinson Volquez full-count pitch. Dozier has homered in seven consecutive starts against the Royals. The last player to homer in seven straight games against an opponent was Ken Griffey Jr. in 1994 against the Texas Rangers.

"A lot of time to play some cards," Dozier said during the rain delay. "It was pretty cool to see how our bullpen responded and put up that many zeros. Theirs obviously matched it as well, so good job by them. We had a couple of opportunities. They did, too. But, walks kill you. That was the story of the game. It stinks. We should have gotten washed out and played two tomorrow."

The Royals made it 4-1 in the fourth. Gordon led off with a walk, Mondesi rifled a single to right, advancing Gordon to third, and Dyson's ground single to right got Gordon home.

The Twins tied it with a three-run fifth, which Eddie Rosario and Juan Centeno led off with back-to-back doubles for the first run. Dozier lined a single to left with one out and Centeno stopped at third. Dozier stole second before Jorge Polanco doubled into the right-field corner, scoring both.

"He (Volquez) definitely wasn't rushing," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He just couldn't get through it."

That is when the rain became heavy and the tarp was called out at 8:41 p.m. CT. There was a 3-hour, 3-minute delay before play resumed 16 minutes before midnight local time.

Matt Strahm replaced Volquez after the delay and walked Joe Mauer before retiring Plouffe on a popup to Mondesi and striking out Max Kepler.

Berrios gave up four runs, five hits and four walks and a hit batter in four innings. Left-hander Ryan O'Rourke replaced Berrios after the delay.

Volquez was charged with four runs, six hits and a walk while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.

NOTES: Royals OF Paulo Orlando, who is hitless in 16 at-bats in his past four games, was given the night off. Jarrod Dyson replaced him in center. ... Twins OF Danny Santana made his 13th start in left field. He has started 37 games in center and three in right, plus two games at shortstop and one at third. ... Royals manager Ned Yost celebrated his 62nd birthday. ... Twins RHP Michael Tonkin led Minnesota relievers with 69 strikeouts entering Friday's action, and has 36 strikeouts in 31 innings in his past 26 appearances. ... Twins LHP Hector Santiago and Royals RHP Ian Kennedy are the pitching probables Saturday.