KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins erased a two-run deficit with a three-run eighth inning Thursday night and beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 at Kauffman Stadium.

Royce Lewis hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to pull Minnesota within 2-1, and the Twins pushed across three runs in the eighth to take their first lead. The rally began with Luke Keaschall’s one-out single. Ryan Jeffers walked, and Josh Bell followed with an RBI single to right field that scored Keaschall and moved Jeffers to third. Royce Lewis was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Brooks Lee then singled to right field, driving in Jeffers and pinch runner Alex Jackson to give Minnesota a 4-3 lead.

The inning ended with the Twins still in front after Victor Caratini struck out and Tristan Gray flied out, but the damage was done. Minnesota’s bullpen protected the one-run lead the rest of the way.

Kansas City had taken the lead in the third inning. Carter Jensen singled, and Bobby Witt Jr. followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Jac Caglianone then lined a single to right field, scoring Jensen and Witt Jr. for a 2-0 Royals lead.

The Royals added another run in the sixth. Witt Jr. doubled with one out, moved to third on Caglianone’s groundout, and scored on Salvador Perez’s single to left field, extending the lead to 3-1.

Lewis’s home run in the fifth was his 13th of the season and came on a fly ball to left field off Kansas City starter Michael Wacha.

Wacha pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with one strikeout. He left after Lewis’s homer and a pair of walks in the fifth inning, but the Royals maintained the lead until the Twins broke through in the eighth.

Minnesota starter Bailey Ober worked six innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. Ober struck out six and walked one.

The Twins’ relief corps took over from there. Kody Funderburk pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out one, and earned the win. Andrew Morris worked a clean eighth with one strikeout. Yoendrys Gómez closed the ninth inning, striking out two and allowing no hits, to earn his 15th save of the season.

Aaron Bummer took the loss for Kansas City, allowing the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning without recording an out. He faced one batter and gave up the Brooks Lee single that put Minnesota ahead.

Witt Jr. was the offensive standout for Kansas City, finishing 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Perez drove in a run with a single. Caglianone had two RBIs as part of a 1-for-4 night.

Lewis went 1 for 4 for Minnesota, with the home run and an RBI. Lee drove in two runs on a 1-for-4 night. Keaschall singled and scored, and Bell had an RBI single.

Both teams finished with seven hits.

The attendance was 16,036. The game lasted 2 hours, 52 minutes.

Minnesota improved to 57-59 with the win. Kansas City fell to 48-68.

The Twins won for the first time in the three-game series after dropping the first two games against the Royals in Kansas City. Minnesota lost 2-1 on Wednesday and 8-2 on Tuesday. The Twins return home after this series, while the Royals continue a homestand.

The Royals opened the scoring in the third on Caglianone’s two-run single. Minnesota’s best early chance came in the top of the third when Alan Roden doubled and advanced to third on Caratini’s groundout, but Tristan Gray flied out and Trevor Larnach grounded out to end the threat.

Minnesota tied the game briefly in the fifth when Lewis homered, but the Royals answered in the sixth with the Perez single. From there, the pitching staffs took over until the Twins’ decisive eighth.

The eighth-inning rally started after Austin Martin grounded out. Keaschall singled to put the tying run on base. Jeffers walked, and Bell singled to make it 3-2. Lewis was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Lee’s single gave Minnesota the lead. Alan Roden walked to load the bases again, but Caratini struck out and Gray flied out to end the inning.

The Royals threatened in the ninth when Perez walked to lead off, but Michael Massey struck out and Isaac Collins struck out to end the game. Gómez retired both hitters to seal the win.

Carter Jensen struck out for Kansas City in the eighth, and Witt Jr. grounded out twice in the late innings.

For the Royals, Easton McGee pitched a scoreless inning of relief, allowing one hit and striking out one. Jose Cuas recorded two outs without allowing a run. Alex Lange pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

For Minnesota, Morris and Gómez combined for two perfect innings to close the game after Funderburk’s scoreless seventh.

The Twins’ victory came despite being outhit? No, both teams had seven hits. Minnesota scored four runs on seven hits, and Kansas City scored three runs on seven hits.

The game featured two successful challenges by Kansas City. In the seventh inning, a pitch result was overturned and Nick Loftin was called out on strikes. In the ninth, Isaac Collins’s pitch result challenge was confirmed, and he was called out on strikes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota Twins 5, Kansas City Royals 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Kansas City with a 51.40 percent probability to win. Minnesota had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over/under line of 8.5.