Morneau just shrugged afterward, saying he got the pitch he wanted.

“Hopefully, I’ll get that chance again,” he said.

Gardenhire defended his slugger and MVP candidate.

“He’s battling. No one wants to do it more than that guy,” the skipper said. “He’s been there all year for us. ... Mornie will be right there for us. We need to pick him up.”

It wasn’t only the offense’s fault.

The bullpen, after throwing 10 1-3 scoreless innings during one-run wins over the White Sox on Wednesday and Thursday, reverted to its unreliable ways. Boof Bonser gave up four singles before an out was recorded in the sixth, though Teahen’s tying hit was a fluke — off the pitcher’s glove and slowly rolling past Casilla when the second baseman had vacated his spot to cover the bag.

After leaving the bases loaded by getting the last two outs of the sixth, Matt Guerrier (6-9) gave up consecutive singles to start the seventh and Shealy’s bloop over a diving Morneau’s head down the first-base line drove in two to make it 4-2 Royals.

The infield was in on that play. At normal depth, it was a routine catch.

This weekend, nothing has been routine for the Twins. The Royals have something to do with that, though.

“Everybody feels pretty good with the way we’re finishing, and I think everybody is realizing we’re really not that far,” Meche said.

Notes: Twins starter Kevin Slowey’s bruised right wrist was still stiff, casting further doubt on his ability to recover in time to take the mound for the potential one-game tiebreaker against the White Sox on Tuesday. ... The Royals have shut down David DeJesus, who left Wednesday’s game with tightness in his right hip flexor muscle. ... Twins starter Glen Perkins did well on eight days of rest. September struggles led the team to skip his last turn, but he gave up only one run in the fifth.

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