James Shields was sharp for 7 1-3 innings, Alex Gordon had three RBIs, and the Kansas City Royals scored five runs in the eighth inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Tuesday.

Shields – the key part in the deal that sent top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay in the offseason – struck out seven and notched his American-League best 22nd quality start.

Shields (9-8) only allowed one hit through seven innings before running into trouble and leaving in the eighth inning.

Kevin Correia struck out a season-high seven over seven shutout innings, but ended up with a no-decision. Brian Dozier had the Twins’ RBI.

The first seven Royals hitters reached base in a five-run eighth that broke open a scoreless game and handed reliever Jared Burton (2-8) his third loss to Kansas City this season.

The first two runs scored on a bloop single from Chris Getz and a Jarrod Dyson suicide squeeze.

Gordon followed with a bases-clearing double down the right-field line that made it 5-0 and sent most of the fans at a steamy Target Field heading for the exits.

Billy Butler hit his 14th home run in the ninth.

After losing seven straight and damaging their playoff chances, the Royals have won three in a row.

While his record isn’t impressive, Shields has pitched pretty well for the Royals.

After walking Ryan Doumit in the second, Shields retired 14 of the next 15 batters and held the Twins until the offense got him some support.

Wade Davis, the other pitcher Kansas City acquired in the Myers’ deal, hasn’t been nearly as effective and was demoted to the bullpen on Tuesday.

Danny Duffy will be called up on Wednesday from Triple-A Omaha and take Davis’ slot in the rotation.

The Twins have struggled to score since All-Star Joe Mauer went on the disabled list a week ago with a concussion.

Minnesota had a chance to cut into the lead after Dozier’s double chased Shields and made it 5-1 in the eighth. But Will Smith struck out Chris Herrmann and Justin Morneau to end the threat.

The Twins struck out 11 times and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday that they have acquired minor league pitcher Clayton Mortensen from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Quintin Berry.  In addition, the Royals also agreed to terms with first baseman Carlos Pena on a minor league contract.  Both Mortensen and Pena will be assigned to Triple-A Omaha.

Mortensen, 28, a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher, has appeared in 24 games with Boston this season, posting a 1-2 record and a 5.34 ERA in 30.1 innings.  He’s held right-handed hitters to a .211 batting average (12-for-57).  He was optioned to Triple-A in late June and has a 3-0 record with a 2.47 ERA in 14 appearances for the Pawtucket Red Sox.  The right-handed reliever has pitched in 74 big league games in his career, going 6-11 with a 4.68 ERA with 112 strikeouts in 167.1 innings.

Pena, 35, a left-handed hitting first baseman, played in 85 games for the Houston Astros this season, before being released on July 31.  He was hitting .209 with 8 homers and 25 RBI for Houston.  The veteran first baseman has played with seven organizations in his 12-year career in which he’s hit .233 with 285 career homers and 816 RBI.  His best season came in 2007 with the Rays, when he hit .282 with 46 homers and 121 RBI in 148 games.

Berry, 28, was claimed by the Royals off waivers from Detroit in June.  He’s hit .193 with 28 stolen bases in 311 at bats in Triple-A between Omaha and Toledo.

— Royals Media Relations —

The Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie grinded through five shaky innings. Third baseman Mike Moustakas grinded through a calf strain that’s still causing him trouble.

The rest of the Kansas City offense ground up Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson.

Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer, Billy Butler also went deep and the Royals romped to an 11-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Monday in a steamy makeup of a snowed-out game from early May.

Perez finished with four RBIs, Butler drove in three runs and Moustakas also drove in a pair as the Royals won their second straight following a seven-game slide.

”We’re a good team. We’re a good-hitting ballclub,” Moustakas said. ”We knew we’d be able to get to the pitcher early and score some runs.”

Hellickson (10-8) allowed five runs in just 2 2-3 innings for Tampa Bay. It was the struggling right-hander’s shortest start since June 30, 2012, when he went the same distance in a game against Detroit before getting pelted in the leg by a line drive.

”The offense to me looks like it is back on track,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Guthrie (13-10) allowed six hits and three walks but twice delivered timely strikeouts. He fanned Kelly Johnson with two aboard to end the third inning, and then struck out David DeJesus on a called third strike to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.

Rays manager Joe Maddon argued that the call and was tossed by plate umpire Greg Gibson.

”It’s been exasperating. They beat us up. We don’t like Kansas City,” Maddon said, ”except for the food. The Plaza is nice and the barbeque, and this is one of the best ballparks in the American League, in all of baseball really, but they just beat us up.”

James Loney drove in the only run for the Rays, who no doubt rued having to make the quick trip to Kansas City in the midst of a six-game homestand. They began the day a game back of the Red Sox in the AL East and lead the American League wild-card standings.

It seemed like a season ago when the teams first tried to play. The temperature was 41 degrees with a wind chill of 21 at first pitch on May 2, and Kauffman Stadium resembled a snow globe by the fourth inning as flurries fell. The game called with the Royals leading 1-0.

It was 93 degrees at first pitch Monday, making for a 52-degree difference from the original date. Sunny skies and a slight breeze made it feel even warmer.

The biggest subplot to the game wasn’t the weather, though, but the return of Myers to Kansas City. The former minor league player of the year was the key to a seven-player trade last December that netted the Royals starting pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis.

Myers hadn’t played at the K since the All-Star Futures Game in 2012, when he went 2 for 4 and drove in the three runs. He didn’t fare nearly as well against big league pitching, either: He went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, slamming his bat down after a pop out in the fifth inning.

”The fans kinds of wore me out in right field,” he said, ”otherwise it was good.”

The Royals struck first on Butler’s RBI single in the first, but they didn’t really break through until the third inning. Three straight hits and a walk scored two runs, a sacrifice fly added another, and Justin Maxwell’s RBI single helped drive Hellickson from the game.

Hellickson fell to 0-5 in his last six starts. He’s made it through five innings once.

”It’s very frustrating when you don’t give your team a chance to win at all, 5-0 in the third,” he said. ”You don’t give them a chance to come back.”

The Royals tacked on five more runs in the sixth against the Tampa Bay bullpen, highlighted by Perez’s three-run shot. That was more than enough help for the Royals’ relief corps, which put together four shutout innings to end Guthrie’s three-game losing streak.
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”I created some problems for myself,” Guthrie said. ”The bats picked us up fortunately and we won it pretty easily, even though it was a struggle early.”

For the first and quite possibly the only time in his career, the Kansas City Royals have parlayed Billy Butler’s plodding foot speed into a win.

At 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds, the burly DH does not run so much as he chugs.

But with the game tied with two out in the eighth on Sunday, Butler hustled to first base to keep the inning alive.

Then he hurried with all his might a few minutes later and was safe at third, allowing Eric Hosmer to cross the plate with the tiebreaking run in what turned into a 6-4 victory over Washington that snapped KC’s seven-game losing streak.

”All you can do is put the ball in play and dig. And that’s what I did,” Butler said with a grin.

With two out and Hosmer on first and the game tied 4-all, Butler hit a hard grounder that first baseman Adam LaRoche knocked down.

The ball rolled several feet to his right and when pitcher Craig Stammen was late to cover the bag, the slow-running Butler pulled into first with an infield single.

”The pitcher’s supposed to get over there,” Butler said. ”They had to know I don’t run very well. But all I could do was run, and I beat him after he didn’t get off to a good start at first.”

Stammen then walked Mike Moustakas on fourth pitches and Salvador Perez hit a hard grounder to shortstop Ian Desmond.

He bobbled the ball momentarily and his throw to third was late, allowing Hosmer to cross the plate on an infield single and making it possible for Royals manager Ned Yost to take a deep breath.

”It seems like when you’re going through those (losing) streaks, every decision you make doesn’t work,” Yost said.

”Do I pinch run? (for Butler) Do I not pinch run? My heart kind of sunk there for a minute thinking as soon as it was hit and I see him going to third. But he ends up making it.”

David Lough’s RBI single brought in the sixth run as the Nationals saw the end of a five-game road winning streak.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson thought Butler should have been out at first, sending the teams into the ninth tied 4-4.

”(LaRoche) bobbled the ball and then still had time to walk to first,” Johnson said. ”We should have got him out. With a ball hit right at him you can usually go to first.”

Kelvin Herrera (5-6) pitched 1 1-3 innings of relief for only the Royals’ third victory in 13 games. Stammen (7-6) took the loss and was part of a shaky defense.

Greg Holland pitched the ninth for his 35th save in 37 opportunities, giving up two singles but striking out the side. Stammen went one inning, gave up three hits and two earned runs.

Butler was not about to say the Royals were due a few good breaks.

”This game never owes you anything. You can’t be looking for breaks,” he said. ”You can just play the game hard and hope the ball falls on your side.”

Royals starter Ervin Santana was handed a 4-0 lead after the first inning but gave up three home runs, including Bryce Harper’s two-run shot with two out in the seventh that tied it 4-all.

Santana had a 4-1 lead and two out in the seventh when Denard Span’s third hit of the day went for his third home run of the year.

Ryan Zimmerman followed with a single, bringing a visit to the mound by Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland. Harper then hit Santana’s next pitch over the fence in left-center, bringing Herrera in from the bullpen.

Washington starter Dan Haren entered the game 4-0 in six career starts in Kauffman Stadium and had never allowed more than two earned runs in K.C.

But that quickly changed.

On Haren’s third pitch, Alex Gordon hit the 11th leadoff home run of his career. After Emilio Bonifacio walked, Hosmer hit an RBI single. Hosmer was out trying to steal, then Moustakas singled and Perez homered for a 4-0 lead against Haren, who had been 4-2 since coming back from the DL on July 8.

Haren was in danger again in the second and was saved by a standout double play started by LaRoche, who dove to his right to grab a line drive off Gordon’s bat. From his knees, LaRoche threw to second base to double off Alcides Escobar.

After that, Haren allowed only two singles while going seven innings. He was charged with four runs and eight hits.

In the Nationals fourth, Desmond homered for the second time in two games. The ball bounced off the facade of the Royals hall of fame behind left field and was estimated at 431 feet.

Span drilled a ball off Santana’s right hip with one out in the third, the ball bounding all the way into foul territory behind third base while Anthony Rendon went from second to third.

But after testing the leg and visiting with the Royals trainer on the mound, Santana stayed in to strike out Zimmerman and retire Harper on a shallow fly.

Santana was charged with four runs and 11 hits in 6 2-3 innings, with seven strikeouts and no walks.

— Associated Press —