MINNEAPOLIS — If you’re having trouble explaining the Royals’ 2026 season amid all of the struggles, disappointment and multiple injuries, here are two more things that might be perplexing to read:
Tyler Tolbert homered and Salvador Perez tripled to help the Royals to a 4-0 win over the Twins at Target Field on Wednesday.
Yes, that’s the Royals’ speed specialist Tolbert, who entered the game with three career home runs, taking Twins starter Joe Ryan deep for a Statcast-projected 405-foot homer. And Perez, the Royals’ newly crowned franchise home run king, legged out a triple on a ball that Twins center fielder Luke Keaschall misplayed off the wall.
However they got there, the Royals will take the runs and the win, especially because it backed seven scoreless innings from starter Randy Dobnak. He has been the most surprising and one of the most impactful players over the past month that he’s been with the Royals. That also might not have been something you would’ve expected to read when the season started, because Dobnak wasn’t even acquired by the Royals until June 17.
Making his first career appearance against his former team, Dobnak matched his career high in innings, which he set on Sept. 3, 2021 — his last start in the Major Leagues before this year.
Since then, he’s dealt with injuries, a move to the bullpen and lots of time in Triple-A before the Twins traded him to the Tigers in 2025. He spent the first part of the season on a Minor League contract with the Mariners before joining the Royals.
A few weeks later, Dobnak was back in the big leagues with Kansas City. In five games with the Royals (three starts), the right-hander has allowed just three runs in 26 innings for a 1.04 ERA. That includes 12 scoreless innings in his past two starts against the Tigers and Twins.
Dobnak was at his best on Wednesday, attacking the Twins with his sinker, making them whiff on his sweeper and keeping them off balance with his changeup.
