KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The AL champion Kansas City Royals had so many starters voted into the All-Star Game on Sunday that they ran out of seats for all of them.

Not that it was a problem.

Salvador Perez, their affable catcher, simply hopped off the platform and grabbed his own chair from the crowd. With a good-natured smile, he carried it back onto the stage and settled in alongside shortstop Alcides Escobar and outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon.

Cut the Royals some slack, though. This is the first time in franchise history that they’ve had four starters voted into the Midsummer Classic, and the most players they’ve had total since George Brett led five All-Stars onto the 1982 team. The last time Kansas City had any starters was 2000, when outfielder Jermaine Dye was chosen to start.

”I really do feel great,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, who will have his entire coaching staff along with him when he manages the AL squad on July 14 in Cincinnati.

”We’re going to have a blast,” he said. ”The All-Star game is an experience you never forget, and to do it with so many of our teammates there is really special.”

The Royals could have a whole bunch more, too.

Relief pitcher Wade Davis, who is 4-1 with a 0.25 ERA, is a near-lock to make the squad when pitchers and reserves are announced Monday night. An injury to first baseman Miguel Cabrera could also open a spot for Eric Hosmer, who for a while had been leading the voting at their position.

Regardless, one more addition would match the franchise record of five total players set in 1982, when George Brett started the game and Hal McRae, Dan Quisenberry, Frank White and Willie Wilson were part of the festivities at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

”It’s just been the support of our fans, really, over the last two years,” said Gordon, making his third straight All-Star appearance. ”Winning brings attention and that’s what we’ve been doing. I think we play with a lot of energy, a lot of fun. People have noticed it.”

For years, the Royals only had the minimum of one All-Star, and often it was a token player who was hardly deserving – Mark Redman and Gil Meche, for example.

But after their impassioned run to the World Series a year ago, the Royals became the darlings of not only Kansas City but much of the country. And the result was millions of votes cast in their favor in the first balloting to be done entirely online, a number so overwhelming that many pundits began to argue that the system for voting All-Star starters must be changed.

At one point, the Royals had eight players leading the voting at their respective positions, and second baseman Omar Infante – hitting just .231 this season – was still tops in the AL in the final update before getting overtaken by Houston’s Jose Altuve at the finish.

”Thanks to the fans. Thanks for the support, for coming to the ballgame every day,” said Perez, who will also be making his third All-Star appearance but, like Gordon, will start for the first time. ”When we see all those fans, we play a little more aggressive to win the game.”

Tempting as it might be for Yost to fill out his roster with the ones who were overtaken – Infante, Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and designated hitter Kendrys Morales – he insisted Sunday that he will use his few selections on the players that are most deserving.

”It’s hard,” he said, ”but I want to do the right thing here, for everybody. The integrity of the All-Star game is important for me. I want to do the right thing – I want to do the right thing for Major League Baseball, I want to do the right thing for each organization and I want to do the right thing for each player, so I can go to bed at night and my conscience is clear.”

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Royals manager Ned Yost treats just about every game the same, especially in July, because the reality is that they all count the same at the end of the season.

So when he singles one out, it must have been important.

Eric Hosmer drove in Lorenzo Cain with nobody out in the ninth inning Sunday, helping Kansas City beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 and earn a four-game split between AL Central contenders.

“It’s huge. It’s as big a game as you’re going to play in early July,” Yost said, his own head drenched in sweat. “Very seldom do you have a chance to make it a two-game swing.”

The game was knotted two-all when Cain drew a leadoff walk against Blaine Boyer (2-4), who had been summoned to relieve Ervin Santana after a masterful return from his drug suspension.

Twins manager Paul Molitor then called upon Aaron Thompson to face Hosmer, who promptly ripped a pitch down the right-field line. Cain sprinted around third base at full speed, and a throw from Torii Hunter in right field was nowhere close to getting him at the plate.

Greg Holland (2-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

“This is a good team and they’re playing well,” said Alex Gordon, who homered along with making several stellar plays in left field. “It’s good to come out with two games, especially when I don’t feel like we’re playing our best baseball.”

Aaron Hicks homered and Miguel Sano drove in the other run for Minnesota.

The victory allowed the first-place Royals to salvage what had been a rough series against the Twins, who remain in second in the division. Kansas City was shut out in the opener, needed extra innings to win Friday night, then lost 5-3 on Saturday.

Santana certainly didn’t look like he had missed 80 games for testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance. After winning each of three rehab starts at Triple-A Rochester, he made his former team look like just another minor league club.

Santana retired the first six batters he faced before issuing a walk, and then got a double play after Butera drove in Kansas City’s first run in the third inning.

Santana only allowed one more hit before Alcides Escobar’s two-out knock in the eighth, though it happened to be a big one: Gordon’s high fly ball that just cleared the right-field wall.

“I was laughing in between innings,” Santana said of facing his old team, where his career experienced a resurgence. “At the same time, I had to get them out. I know we were teammates, but when we get between those lines everything changes.”

Besides, the Royals’ pitching staff was just as tough.

Danny Duffy continued his renaissance by allowing two runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings. It was his third straight solid start since returning from the disabled list.

Ryan Madson and Wade Davis got the game to Holland, who wound up with the win.

“Walk-off wins are definitely fun, especially against a team in our division,” Hosmer said. “We’re not playing our best baseball right now and we know that. We’ll take a win against those guys when we’re not playing our best.”

MOOSE EXITS

Royals 3B Mike Moustakas left the game for what Yost called “a family emergency.” Dusty Coleman replaced him in the sixth inning and struck out in his first major league at-bat. Coleman also flied out in the eighth inning.

STILL BULLDOZING

Twins 2B Brian Dozier began the day with 44 extra-base hits, most in the American League. He added to that total with a double in the eighth, though he wound up getting stranded.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: RHP Ryan Pressly had an MRI exam on his right shoulder Sunday, though results were not available. Pressly strained the shoulder during Saturday’s game.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (elbow nerve) will throw a side session Monday rather than make a rehab start, Yost said. Ventura could return Thursday against Tampa Bay.

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Phil Hughes starts in the opener of a three-game series against Baltimore.

Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez takes the mound to start a four-game set against Tampa Bay.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe Mauer hit a two-run homer in his first four-hit game in nearly two years, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Saturday night.

Mauer, who is 13 for 28 against Royals starter Joe Blanton, homered with Brian Dozier aboard in a three-run first. Aaron Hicks’ grounder scored Trevor Plouffe, who missed the cycle by a home run, with the other run.

Plouffe’s tripled scored Mauer in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0.

The last time Mauer had four or more hits in a game was Aug. 14, 2013, when he had five hits in a 12-inning game against Cleveland.

Glen Perkins pitched a flawless ninth for his major league-leading 27th save.

Twins starter Mike Pelfrey was chased after the Royals’ first four hitters in the fifth reached base. Kansas City loaded the bases singles by Omar Infante and Alcides Escobar, and a four-pitch walk to Mike Moustakas. Lorenzo Cain followed with a two-run single to left, prompting Minnesota manager Paul Molitor to replacing Pelfrey with Brian Duensing.

The Royals got another run that inning when Moustakas scored on Kendrys Morales’ ground out.

Pelfrey, who lasted just two innings in his previous start, was charged with three runs and seven hits with three walks in four-plus innings. In his past five starts, Pelfrey is 0-3 with an 8.51 ERA, leaving three after no more than four innings.

Duensing (3-0), the second of seven Twins pitchers, was credited with the victory.

The Twins increased their lead in the seventh on Torii Hunter’s sacrifice fly.

Blanton (2-2) gave up four runs and nine hits with four strikeouts in five innings. After winning his first two starts, Blanton has allowed nine runs, 14 hits and four walks in 7 2/3 innings over his past two starts.

The AL Central-leading Royals have lost five of six, while the second-place Twins have pulled to 3 1/2 games back.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: RHP Ryan Pressly left in the seventh inning with a right shoulder strain after giving up a single to Escobar.

Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (ulnar nerve irritation) will make his third rehab start Monday for Triple-A Omaha. Manager Ned Yost said Ventura’s bullpen session Thursday went “great.”

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Ervin Santana, who was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, will make his first start Sunday. He went 9-10 with a 3.24 in 2014 with Kansas City.

Royals: LHP Danny Duffy will make his third start since coming off the disabled list. He is 4-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 10 games against the Twins.

— Associated Press —