Gibson Wins Debut As Twins Beat Royals 6-2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Gibson pitched six solid innings in his major league debut, and Trevor Plouffe homered to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Saturday.
Gibson (1-0) allowed two runs and eight hits, and he struck out five to become the first first-round pick in Twins history to win a start in his major league debut. He had plenty of early help as Minnesota scored five in the first inning.
Wade Davis (4-6) was yanked after giving up another run in the second with no one out. The one inning outing marked Davis' shortest outing of the season for the Royals, who have lost seven of 10.
The Twins made Gibson the No. 22 pick in the 2009 draft, but his road to the big leagues was derailed when he elbow replacement surgery in September 2011.
Gibson's long-awaited arrival to the Twins' rotation came this week after starter Mike Pelfrey was placed on the disabled list because of a strained back.
Gibson received the loudest cheers during pregame introductions, and he delighted the crowd by striking out slugger Billy Butler to end the first inning.
Kyle Gibson
Minnesota had been outscored 74-39 in the first inning this season, but the Twins pounced right away on Davis, who gave up a two-run double to Justin Morneau and a two-run homer to Plouffe.
Pedro Florimon's RBI-single made it 5-0, and Gibson calmly handled the Royals lineup the rest of the way with pitches that consistently reached into the 90-mph range.
Gibson allowed two runs in the third inning on RBI singles by Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez, and he hit Escobar in the fifth. But he worked out of several jams and recorded his first 1-2-3 inning in the sixth thanks to some nice defense by Florimon at short.
Brian Duensing relieved Gibson to start the seventh.
Joe Mauer
Ron Gardenhire
NOTES: Davis had been 3-0 in eight career appearances against the Twins. . It took Davis 53 pitches to get through the first inning. He threw 69 total before being relieved by Will Smith in the second. . Plouffe stretched his hitting streak to 11 games, the second longest of his career. His highest is a 17-games spurt from June 30-July 19, 2012. . Gibson is the eighth rookie used by the Twins this season. . The Twins will go for the series win on Sunday when they send right-hander Kevin Correia (6-5) to the mound. The Royals counter with Ervin Santana (5-5).
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