KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals put a memorable finish on a forgettable 2019 season.

Jorge Soler locked up the AL home run crown with his 48th, Brett Phillips drove a game-ending sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and Kansas City beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 in manager Ned Yost’s final game.
“I’m sure everyone in the field in the top of the ninth was like, ‘Give me that at-bat.’ I know that’s what was going through my head,” Phillips said.

Soler connected in the first inning, becoming the first Royal to lead the AL in home runs and surpassing Rafael Palmeiro for the most long balls by a Cuban-born player. The 27-year-old’s previous career high was 12.
But the Royals also lost 100-plus games for the second straight season, finishing only two games better than last year at 59-103. Yost said he won’t miss much about the game.
“There’s not one part of me that wants to continue doing this,” he said. “I’ve done my part. I want to go spend time with my family, especially my wife. We’ve been apart for six or seven months a year, for the most part. We’re both healthy and we want to go do some things together.
“I’m very confident in my part in helping this team get back into fait condition. I’m walking out the door feeling good with no regrets.”

The Royals drew 17,875 in their final game. They finished with an average of 18,267 fans, 2,290 fewer than 2018. Whit Merrifield became the second right-handed hitter to lead the majors in hits in back-to-back years (Kirby Puckett, 1988-89).