KANSAS CITY, MO. -- I focused my game story on Francisco Liriano's part in Tuesday night's pitcher's duel with Bruce Chen, and ran out of room to rehash the ninth-inning drama.
Postgame: A look back at a tension-filled ninth inning
After getting stifled for seven innings against Bruce Chen, the Twins made things interesting against Royals closer Jonathan Broxton.
That's when the Twins had their best chance.
With Jonathan Broxton (1.59 ERA) pitching, Josh Willingham drilled a one-out double to left-center field, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Justin Morneau came up and nearly tied the game when he lined a ball just foul down the left-field line.
"It's a game of inches," Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas said. "He hits that ball two more inches to the right, we're still playing."
Broxton said, "I thought, 'Oh, man!' I thought it caught the chalk, but it's kind of hard to tell where I'm at. Luckily it went foul."
Morneau was behind in the count 1-2 but battled his way to a seven-pitch walk. Then, with runners at first and second, Ryan Doumit took a rip at a first-pitch fastball -- belt-high, in the strike zone -- and flied out to left field.
Finally, Trevor Plouffe worked his way into a 2-1 hitter's count, before hitting a long drive to left-center field. For a moment, it looked like it might be another big hit for Plouffe, but center fielder Jarrod Dyson made a long running catch.
"I was hoping it would get to the gap," Manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But Dyson had it covered pretty good."
The Chicago Cubs have added Matthew Boyd to their rotation in their first big offseason move, agreeing to a $29 million, two-year contract with the veteran left-hander, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.