Jeremy Guthrie lasted six shaky innings and the Kansas City bullpen held off the Minnesota Twins the rest of the way Wednesday night, wrapping up a 4-1 victory that ended the Royals’ franchise-record 11-game home losing streak.

It had been exactly one month since Kansas City won a game at Kauffman Stadium, a period marked by offensive ineptitude that had resulted in a precipitous slide into last place in the AL Central.

It also marked the end for hitting coaches Jack Maloof and Andre David, and the return of George Brett to the dugout. The Hall of Fame third baseman was appointed interim hitting coach last week, and while the results still haven’t been great, the Royals may be finally starting to show a spark.

The Twins jumped out to a first-inning lead off Guthrie (6-3), but the right-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam with the help of a nice catch by first baseman Eric Hosmer to prevent any additional damage.

The Royals answered in the bottom half when Hosmer reached second on an error and Salvador Perez drove him in with a single. P.J. Walters (2-1) walked the bases loaded, and David Lough’s two-run, two-out single gave Kansas City enough runs for the rest of the night.

Aaron Crow got the Royals out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth. Greg Holland put the first two runners aboard in the ninth before striking out Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit and Chris Parmelee for his 10th save of the season.

Josh Willingham drove in the only run for the Twins, who left 14 on base.

Billy Butler had three hits, including an RBI single in the seventh, and Mike Moustakas drove a pitch from Walters in the first that would have been a three-run shot had it carried another five feet.

Meanwhile, Guthrie limited the Twins to six hits and three walks to win for the first time since May 9. He also ended a streak of 18 consecutive games by Royals starters without a victory.

Guthrie certainly got some help from his defense.

Hosmer robbed a fan of a foul ball when he made a catch near the Royals’ dugout with the bases loaded to end the first inning. Then in the third, second baseman Chris Getz made a diving play to his left to pilfer Doumit of a base hit that likely would have scored a run.

Walters gave up seven hits and three walks in six innings, but all three runs were unearned.

The Twins right-hander allowed a pair of singles to start the third before Moustakas grounded into a double play to scuttle that inning. He also gave up a single leading off the fourth before Getz grounded into a double play, one that proved timely when Alcides Escobar tripled moments later.

The middle innings were played through a persistent mist that at times turned to rain, giving the sparsely populated bowl of the stadium the look of a car wash. But the grounds crew kept the infield dry, and crew chief Tom Hallion never appeared close to calling for the tarp.

— Associated Press —

Ryan Doumit homered and drove in a pair of runs Tuesday night, sending the Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory and the Kansas City Royals to their franchise-record 11th straight home loss.

Samuel Deduno (2-1) allowed four hits over six-plus innings for the Twins, who have rebounded nicely from a 10-game losing streak to win eight of 10. They also managed to exact a little revenge on the Royals, who swept them in early April – a three-game set that seems long ago.

While the Twins have soared, the Royals have lost 22 of their last 28 games.

The way Kansas City has been hitting lately, the game was basically decided when Doumit went deep off Luis Mendoza (1-3) leading off the fourth inning. But just to be safe, Doumit and Josh Willingham added RBI singles in the fifth inning to provide the Twins with a three-run cushion.

Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.

Mendoza didn’t allow a hit until Doumit’s shot in the fourth. The right-hander escaped the inning, but four straight one-out hits in the fifth ultimately knocked him from game.

It was the 18th straight time that the Royals’ starter has failed to win a decision.

Their offense has been the biggest culprit: The Royals are hitting.183 with runners in scoring position since May 21, when they led the AL with a .308 average in such situations. That includes going 0 for 7 on Tuesday night, and 2 for 27 over their past three games.

It’s certainly not the start that Hall of Famer George Brett wanted to get off to as the team’s interim hitting coach. The Royals’ punchless offense has continued to scuffle in the five games since Jack Maloof and Andre David were reassigned and Brett given his familiar No. 5 jersey to wear.

Meanwhile, the Twins have headed in the opposite direction.

After enduring one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history, their offense has propelled the Twins to seven wins in their last eight games – four straight over Milwaukee and a series win over Seattle that was highlighted by a 10-0 blowout in the finale on Sunday.

Doumit has been one of the catalysts for the resurgence. After getting off to a slow start, he’s hitting .324 with four homers and 13 RBIs over his last eight games.

Of course, just about any offense would have been enough given the combination of the Royals’ weak hitting and the stingy work by Deduno and the Twins bullpen.

Deduno, who turned heads for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, struck out five while walking just two. It was his second straight strong start after allowing one run on four hits in seven innings in a victory over the Brewers last Wednesday night.

Relievers Brian Duensing, Casey Fien and Jared Burton got through the seventh and eighth innings unscathed, and Perkins took care of the ninth. The Twins bullpen has combined to allow just four runs over their last 37 1-3 innings.

— Associated Press —