MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have played well away from home. They’re consistently capable of winning with only a couple of runs.

If they can keep this up for the summer, they’ll probably be right there in the pennant race at the end.

Jason Vargas threw seven scoreless innings, Raul Ibanez homered in his second game for Kansas City and the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0 Wednesday.

“We’ve been running the ball out there and doing a good job of keeping our team in the ballgame, and when we’re not the boys are stepping up and keeping us in the ballgame,” Vargas said. “So we’ve got a good combo going on right now.”

Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Only five of their 21 outs against him were outfield flies.

“He’s got all the pitches,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. With Joe Mauer missing, placed on the disabled list before the game because of a strained muscle on his right side, the Twins didn’t cause Vargas any trouble. They were shut out for the sixth time this season and lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.

“Obviously you have to score to win,” said Correia, the league leader in losses. “It’s tough. It’s a good pitching staff they have. It’s going to happen.”

With rookie Yordano Ventura and now Danny Duffy joining the veteran trio of Vargas, James Shields and Jeremy Guthrie, who are all in the top 10 in the league in innings pitched, the Royals have a deep rotation. They’ve pitched well enough to make up for substandard seasons by several key hitters.

Vargas improved to 4-1 in his last eight starts, seven of which have counted as quality: six innings or more and three runs or less. Vargas also became the first Royals left-hander to win eight games or more before the All-Star break since Chris George in 2003.

“I thought he was splendid,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He was pretty much in complete control.”

The 42-year-old Ibanez signed Monday with the Royals, the team that first gave him a regular spot in the lineup all the way back in 2001. He had two hits and two runs in this game, including the solo shot to right field in the eighth. Ibanez was released by the Los Angeles Angels last month.

Eric Hosmer, who walked three times, added an RBI single in the ninth inning for insurance.

The Royals won their fifth straight road series. After losing eight of 12 following a 10-game winning streak, Vargas put them back on track.

“Just typical Vargas, just going out, working, throwing strikes, letting his defense work,” Hosmer said. “He really knows his game plan when he’s out there.”

Correia lowered his ERA to 4.95, the only time he’s had that mark under 5.00 since his first start of the year, after surrendering six hits and two walks in six innings while striking out three. The right-hander completed exactly six innings for the fifth consecutive turn, and he has allowed two runs or fewer in four of those starts.

But the second inning was the one that hurt, when five batters reached. He struck out Billy Butler to finish the frame with the bases loaded.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Just when Joe Mauer was getting on a roll, pain forced an early exit.

Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night.

Mauer extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth inning, but was noticeably limping as he ran to second base. The team said he has a strained oblique muscle on his right side and will be evaluated Wednesday.

“I’ve been kind of battling this area for about a week or so, maybe a little more,” Mauer said. “I’ve been stiff and getting it loose and everything’s been fine, but today on that one swing, ball down the line, it felt like somebody hit me pretty hard right there.”

Mauer missed almost a week earlier this year with a bad back and sat out the final 39 games last season with concussion-like symptoms.

“I’ve never had this happen before, so I hope it’s a lot sooner than what guys in the past have had,” Mauer said. “I’ve been feeling pretty good and getting some results, so it’s bad timing.”

Eric Hosmer had four hits for the Royals.

Ricky Nolasco (5-6) earned his first win in five starts, allowing one run and eight hits in six innings.

Minnesota signed Nolasco to a $49 million, four-year contract in the offseason, hoping he would help a rotation that had a major league-worst 5.26 ERA last year. Nolasco has struggled, however, posting a 5.49 ERA. He pitched more than six innings just once in his past 11 starts.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before the game that Nolasco had a good bullpen session last weekend in hopes of improving his mechanics to get better command of his fastball to set up his breaking pitches.

Nolasco was better Tuesday, but remained far from dominant. He gave up six hits in the first three innings before settling down and retiring the Royals in order in the fourth and sixth.

“I didn’t have too many quick innings, but it was just kind of battling and I made some pitches when I had to,” Nolasco said. “(My fastball) was better. Just trying not to do too much. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Kansas City starter James Shields (8-4) was hoping a new month would change his fortunes. It didn’t.

In his shortest outing of the season, Shields allowed nine hits and five runs — four earned — in five innings. Although he struck out five, he was constantly behind in the count, leading to a 113-pitch outing. It was his first loss since May 2, a span of 10 starts in which he had five wins and five no-decisions.

The right-hander has a 5.66 ERA in his past eight starts, and only twice has he allowed three or fewer runs.

“I actually thought I made some pretty good pitches and they just found a lot of holes today,” Shields said. “It’s definitely frustrating that I’m not getting outs. I’m not getting my job done.”

Nunez homered and Sam Fuld had a two-run single as part of a five-run sixth inning for the Twins. Minnesota scored more than five runs for just the third time in 16 games.

“We got some breaks,” Gardenhire said. “They always say it evens out, so hopefully this is the start of it evening out.”

A miscue by the Royals gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead in the third.

With Nunez on first, Chris Parmelee hit a popup to short left field with two outs. Mike Moustakas backpedaled from third base as left fielder Alex Gordon was coming in. The two nearly collided and the ball bounced off Gordon’s glove to put runners on second and third. Kendrys Morales drove in Nunez with an infield single.

“I think Gordy just thought that he wasn’t going to get there, then at the last second realized he had a chance to get there and they both get there at the same time,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

An RBI double by Parmelee scored Nunez in the first, but an RBI single by Moustakas evened the score in the second.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sitting in his office about 10 feet away from the Kansas City Royals’ locker room, manager Ned Yost’s voice was nearly drown out by the thunderous hip hop music blaring and the full-throated cackling from his players in the next room.

The young Royals have good reason to celebrate these days.

Alcides Escobar tied a career high with four RBIs on two doubles and Salvador Perez homered to lift the Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

“That’s what we need,” Perez said. “Have some fun and play the game hard.”

Danny Duffy (5-7) gave up one run and four hits while striking out three in 5 2/3 innings and Mike Moustakas had two hits for the Royals. Kansas City (43-39) has won three of four and is off to its best start since 2003.

“We’re very confident in what we have in the tank,” Duffy said. “We’ve got a great offense, great lineup. The defense is always flashing the leather. When we go out there and make pitches, it’s going to be a good night.”

Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits while also striking out three in 5 2/3 innings for the Twins. Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI in his return from the disabled list for Minnesota, which has lost six of its last seven games to drop into last place in the AL Central.

“We’ve been facing some pretty decent pitching, and I don’t know if it’s pressing,” said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose Twins went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. “I just know we’re just not getting enough big hits right now. We’re not putting any runs on the board. A lot of pressure on our pitchers to be really good.”

The Royals entered the night 3 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division and 1 1/2 games out of the AL wild card. For a team that has been endlessly rebuilding and hasn’t made the playoffs since 1985, those are encouraging numbers as the season reaches its midpoint.

They grabbed everyone’s attention with a 10-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place in June, but had lost seven of 10 games as the bats cooled off.

The Royals signed 42-year-old Raul Ibanez on Monday, hoping he can help boost the team’s scuffling offense and give a little extra support to a solid starting rotation. Ibanez broke into the big leagues with the Royals a decade ago, but hit just .157 in 57 games for the Angels this season.

They had plenty of offense with him on the bench on Monday night.

Pino was shaky early, getting tagged for a two-run double by Escobar in the second inning and an RBI-single from Alex Gordon in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. Perez’s solo homer in the sixth ended Pino’s day and the Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth, padding their lead with Escobar’s second two-run double of the game.

“When you’re not going good, you’re not capitalizing on mistakes,” Yost said. “When you’re playing well, you do capitalize on mistakes. That’s exactly what we did tonight, which was big. Those were two big runs right there. That’s a lot of breathing room.”

— Associated Press —