KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There was little for Tyler Austin to be upset about as he headed to the bus on Sunday.

The Twins’ first baseman had hit one of their four home runs in a 9-6 win over the Kansas City Royals. He had escaped unscathed after making a spectacular catch while flipping into the dugout down the first-base line and, perhaps most importantly, he didn’t have to dress up in one of the ridiculous horse-and-jockey costumes that were awaiting his rookie teammates in their locker.

Instead, Austin was able to enjoy all of it — right down to the rookie hazing ritual — after the Twins managed to avoid a four-game sweep and an ignominious start to their final trip this season.

Max Kepler, Johnny Field and Jorge Polanco also went deep for the Twins, who had a season-high 18 hits and got a gritty effort by Kyle Gibson (8-13) to cool off the red-hot Royals.

“You always have something to play for,” said Gibson, who lasted into the seventh to end a four-start losing streak, despite allowing five runs and 11 hits. “When teams start giving up and throwing it in, they’re only doing disrespecting those around you.”

So that’s why Austin was willing to go head-over-heels into an empty dugout, and while the rest of the Twins were there to pick him right back up with a pat on his back.

“I don’t think he cares where fences are,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He kind of caught it as he got there and unfortunately there were no people there. He took a pretty hard fall but he’s OK.”

Jerry Vasto (0-1) allowed one run on three hits to take the loss in relief.

Ryan O’Hearn and Rosell Herrera staked Kansas City to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back run-scoring doubles in the first, but Minnesota slowly chipped away in building a 5-2 lead in the fourth.

Polanco began the comeback with an RBI single, but it was Kepler’s homer off Jakob Junis — on the pitcher’s 26th birthday, no less — and back-to-back shots by Austin and Field that turned the game.

It was the sixth time Minnesota has gone back-to-back this season.

Brian Goodwin answered for Kansas City with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and two-run shot by Adalberto Mondesi in the fifth allowed Kansas City to pull even again. But Polanco’s homer off Brian Flynn leading off the sixth gave Minnesota the lead back for good.

“It was a good homestand. I’m glad we’re playing better for our fans,” said Royals manager Ned Yost, whose club has won five straight series. “We haven’t given them much to cheer for all summer long, yet they still cheer for us. So, to have some success here at the end of the season makes me feel a little bit better.”

RIDER UP

The Twins rookies poured out of the dugout long after the final pitch and proceeded to run around Kauffman Stadium in what Gibson dubbed the Kentucky Derby. They’ll have to don their costumes again to run the Preakness after their final game in Detroit, then do it one more time to run the Belmont Stakes when they conclude their final road series in Oakland next weekend.

EWW, GROSS

Twins pitcher Zack Littell left Saturday’s game after developing blood blister on a finger of his pitching hand. “It’s good,” he said before Sunday’s game. “Came in this morning and let them drain it again. Letting it dry up and then take a day or two off catch, then get back at it.”

EASY WITH EDDIE

Eddie Rosario (hamstring) was the DH on Sunday, and Twins manager Paul Molitor said he’s being cautious with putting him back in the outfield. “I’m hoping he gets there. I don’t think he’s feeling that risk is worthwhile,” Molitor said. “As it’s going, I’m getting him in there most days as DH.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: C Mitch Garver (concussion) was feeling better Sunday, though it’s still unclear when he will be cleared to play. “He’s got more energy,” Molitor said. “There’s signs he’s getting it behind him.” … 3B Miguel Sano (bruised leg) missed his 10th straight game. “He said he’s doing better,” Molitor said. “He told me he wanted to try to play sometime in the Detroit series.”

Royals: 1B/3B Hunter Dozier (back) was out of the lineup against Sunday. He’s been in and out of the lineup for the past week. O’Hearn started at 1B and Alcides Escobar at 3B on Sunday.

UP NEXT

The Twins continue their 10-game trip when they visit Detroit for three games beginning Monday night. The Royals’ final road trip also begins Monday night, when RHP Brad Keller (8-6, 3.04) is on the mound for the first of three games in Pittsburgh.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ian Kennedy, Alex Gordon and the rest of the Royals’ veterans have been watching as their talented young teammates delivered win after win during a surprising late-season surge.

They finally got a piece of the action Saturday night.

Kennedy pitched six innings to earn his first win since the first week of April, Gordon drove in five runs, and the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 10-3 for their fifth win in six games.

Another of the old guard, Alcides Escobar, had three RBI while finishing a homer shy of the cycle, and Cam Gallagher ended a 0-for-14 skid with a career-best four hits, in a blowout that set Kansas City up for a shot at a four-game sweep of its AL Central rivals on Sunday.

“We’re not looking at it like that. We feel like we’re a quality team that’s playing well right now,” Gordon said. “Whether you’re young or old, it doesn’t really matter.”

Kennedy (2-8) allowed six hits while striking out four in his second start since a two-month stint on the disabled list. The right-hander allowed only Ehire Adrianza’s RBI single in the second and Logan Forsythe’s run-scoring hit in the fifth to earn his second home win in two years.

“I just knew it had been a long time,” said Kennedy, who ended a 17-start winless streak with his first since April 7. “It was the first win since last September that I got at home. I did know that.”

Gordon had an RBI groundout in the first, a two-run double in the fourth and another two-run double in the sixth. He finished one RBI shy of his career best, set against Baltimore on May 18, 2014.

“He had some fantastic at-bats,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “His focus has been beating the shift and I told him he was like Rod Carew tonight, peppering it down the left-field line.”

Most of the damage came against Chase De Jong (0-1), who was pounded for five runs — three earned — on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was a far different from his start against the Royals last week, when De Jong allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in a game the Twins won 3-1.

This time, Kansas City jumped out to a 2-1 lead before a four-run fourth provided a comfortable cushion. Escobar started the scoring with an RBI triple, then scored when he was caught in a run-down and the throw toward home hit him in the back and bounced away.

Twins skipper Paul Molitor and third base coach Gene Glynn took exception with the umpiring on the play, and both earned their second ejections of the season. That meant they weren’t around to see Gordon add a two-run double later in the inning and give Kansas City a 6-2 advantage.

The Royals’ longtime outfielder hit his second two-run double a couple innings later, his third hit of the night, before grounding out in his final at-bat.

“It was nice. I’m proud of the way Alex has continued to battle back,” Yost said. “He had a rough year last year. He’s worked hard and it’s paying off for him.”

ON THE TOSS

Molitor said he came out to question whether Gallagher had squared to bunt on a suicide-squeeze in the fourth inning, when he got ejected. “We didn’t execute the play and that was probably what had my emotion kind of high anyway,” he said. “They were giving us an out there and take a runner out of scoring position and we can’t execute. So, I didn’t bother to look at it. We didn’t get the call. I wasn’t happy at the time. I stepped out of the dugout, which you can’t do on a ball-and-strike call, which is why I got tossed as quickly as I did.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: C Mitch Garver (concussion) did some light cardio Saturday after his team sent him back to the hotel the previous night. Garver took a foul ball off his mask Wednesday, and he began to feel the effects of a concussion taking batting practice Friday. “He’s not doing as well as we had hoped,” Molitor said. “We are labeling it in the concussion category. And with all concussions kind of being unique in themselves, we’ll just have to see how he progresses.”

Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (bruised ribs) had an MRI exam that came back clean, and Yost said he’s day-to-day. Jopez left in the fifth inning of Friday night’s game. He fell three outs shy of a perfect game his previous start last Saturday at Minnesota.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Jakob Junis (8-12, 4.28 ERA) tries to keep his hot streak going in the series finale against RHP Kyle Gibson (7-13, 3.67) and the Twins. Junis has a 2.83 ERA over 10 starts since returning from the disabled list on July 21, and has 58 strikeouts in 60 innings.

— Associated Press —