This was supposed to be a big statement game. First game of the second half, high-priced free agent on the mound that the Twins outbid the Royals for, and a chance for a win in a four-game series on the road against the division-leading Royals.

Santana did his part, throwing 8 strong innings with 2 runs allowed with 8 strikeouts to just 6 base runners allowed (3 hits, 3 walks). It still felt a little disappointing because one of the runs came after a leadoff walk to Omar Infante (ugh), a sac bunt by the left-handed swinging Jarrod Dyson in front of Drew Butera (seriously?), who singled on an 0-2 hanging slider after Santana had blown 2 fastballs by Butera (bad selection and bad execution).

Still, the bigger disappointment was another bad day at the plate despite more hitting by Miguel Sano, who's making the front office look bad for waiting this long to call him up. Sano hit a low breaking pitch for a double off the wall in straightaway center field in the second inning and added a single between short and third against All-Star closer Greg Holland. The only other player with 2 hits was Joe Mauer, who had 4 hits the day before, and the only other RBI was on Aaron Hicks' solo home run leading off the third inning.

The offense was especially disappointing since Royals starter Danny Duffy has not been good this season and had an ERA over 8.00 in his previous 5 starts. Plus, the Twins came into the game with a .756 OPS against left-handed starters vs. a .658 OPS against right-handed starters.

The Twins didn't do much offensively, but they didn't have any luck either, especially late. Torii Hunter lined out to shortstop with Brian Dozier at second base to end the eighth inning and Trevor Plouffe was robbed of a possible double on a sliding catch by Alex Gordon to start the ninth. If both had found a hole, the Twins might have had a two-run lead after eight innings.

The biggest disappointment was the bullpen, which took two relievers all of two batters (and 0 outs) to lose the game. Blaine Boyer made the biggest "sin" by walking the leadoff man before Aaron Thompson gave up an RBI double to end the game. Seriously, the Twins need to drop Thompson now and bring up Caleb Thielbar or trade for a LOOGY. Thompson took the loss in Friday's game and has an ERA of 10.57 in 7 2/3 innings since June 5 with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts and an insane 34% line-drive rate.

Oh well. The Twins still split four games on the road against a first-place team. But it felt like it could have been so much more. The Twins didn't lose any ground to the Royals, which is a real danger when playing on the road, but neither were they able to get any closer, so they still are 4 1/2 games out of the division lead. They also have dropped into a tie with the Orioles in the wildcard standings. If the Angels beat Texas tonight, they'll be a half-game ahead of the Twins, meaning the Twins would be tied for the last playoff spot.

The Twins now have an important homestand with 3 games against the O's and 4 against the Miggy-less Tigers, who are in third place in the AL Central.