Twins’ first baseman Tyler Austin hit one of their four home runs in a 9-6 win over the Kansas City Royals.
He escaped unscathed after making a spectacular catch while flipping into the dugout down the first-base line and, perhaps most importantly, he didn’t have to dress up in one of the ridiculous horse-and-jockey costumes that were awaiting his rookie teammates in their locker.
Instead, Austin was able to enjoy all of it — right down to the rookie hazing ritual — after the Twins managed to avoid a four-game sweep and an ignominious start to their final trip this season.
Max Kepler, Johnny Field and Jorge Polanco also went deep for the Twins, who had a season-high 18 hits and got a gritty effort by Kyle Gibson (8-13) to cool off the red-hot Royals.
