Jim Thome has been plagued by aches and pains for the better part of a decade. They just seem to be coming around a little more often in his 19th season.

A strained oblique and bothersome toe injury on his left foot have slowed his chase of 600 career homers, but the Minnesota Twins are sticking with him for moments like the sixth inning on Sunday against Kansas City.

With the game tied and his team in desperate need of a jolt, Thome hit his 596th home run to lift the Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Royals.

Thome’s tiebreaking three-run drive off Felipe Paulino soared into the upper deck in right-center field, leaving him four shy of becoming the eighth player to hit 600 home runs.

“It’s always special,” Thome said. “That feeling you want to kind of last forever. It went out, it put us ahead. And that’s No. 1.”

Jeff Francoeur homered and Melky Cabrera added two hits for the Royals. Paulino (1-3) struck out eight in seven innings, yielding four runs and seven hits.

Brian Duensing (7-7) gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Twins, who started a crucial 12-game homestand by taking three of four from the Royals.

After a relatively healthy season last year in which he hit 25 homers in 108 games, this one has been a tough one. He will turn 41 in August, and it’s getting tougher and tougher to get his body ready to grind out each at-bat.

On a sweltering day where the heat index climbed past 110 degrees, Thome looked plenty loose when he sent a 3-2 pitch from Paulino an estimated 464 feet into the stands for a 4-1 lead. He also became the 11th player to hit 500 homers in the American League.

“He’s had some injuries and we know we have to limit what you can do with him to keep him healthy,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “That was a big at-bat and it was one mistake. That’s what those guys do. You make one mistake and he’s going to put it in the seats. That’s why he’s got that many home runs.”

Francoeur came back with a two-run shot of his own in the top of the seventh, but Glen Perkins pitched a perfect eighth and Joe Nathan, who resumed his closer role when Matt Capps began to struggle, picked up his fifth save of the season.

It was a tough loss for Paulino, who has pitched well since joining the Royals at the end of May. Paulino hit 97 mph on the Target Field radar gun. He only walked one hitter, an intentional pass for Joe Mauer, who had two hits and an RBI.

“We’re at the point where one mistake kills us,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We’re just walking a thin line. Just keep battling through it. We’re getting better. We’ve just got to keep trudging through it.”

The Royals made Duensing work through the first three innings.

The Twins left-hander needed 58 pitches to get to the fourth, giving up an RBI single to Alex Gordon to fall behind in the first inning. But he breezed through innings four, five and six, averaging just 10 pitches per frame to keep the Twins in it.

Gardenhire returned to the ballpark Sunday after missing Saturday’s game with a chest cold that has bothered him for weeks. He played it safe by watching the game from the air-conditioned clubhouse, while bench coach Scott Ullger made the pitching changes.

Paulino fanned Thome and got him to ground into a double play the first two times up. But he left a slider out over the middle of the plate in the third at-bat, and paid for it.

“He knows what his game’s all about,” Nathan said. “He came to us and pretty much said, ‘There’s going to be a lot of times I strike out. There’s going to be a lot of times I walk and there’s going to be a lot of times that I’m going to barrel one up.’

“We got to see a lot of that today. He punched out, but he also got to barrel one up and we got to see one fly a long way.”

— Associated Press —

Joe Nathan entered in a save situation Saturday night and received a rousing ovation from the hometown crowd.

Quite a departure from a day ago, when Matt Capps was booed off the Target Field mound after another blown save.

Nathan couldn’t contain a smile after returning to the role he wanted. The Minnesota fans certainly embraced the Twins’ new, old closer as he preserved a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals.

“Especially running in, it got a little louder than normal,” Nathan said of moving into the closer’s spot after pitching in a setup role recently. “Usually it’s like advertisements going on in the eighth inning. So, yeah, you’ve got to calm down a little bit more.”

Michael Cuddyer singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning before Nathan did his job as the closer.

Cuddyer, Minnesota’s lone All-Star representative, singled off Aaron Crow to drive in Alexi Casilla.

Nathan finished for his fourth save in seven chances. Earlier in the day, the Twins put the former All-Star back into his familiar role, replacing the struggling Capps. Nathan earned his first save since the Twins’ home opener.

“For me, I try to treat it all the same,” Nathan said. “Obviously the stuff going on outside the field is the stuff that’s different, with the music playing, the crowd gets a little louder in the ninth, everything seems a little bigger in that inning. For myself and my own mental preparation, everything is the same.”

Drew Butera added a solo home run for Minnesota. Glen Perkins (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth for the victory.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire left the stadium during the game with an illness — he’s been dealing with a viral infection. Bench coach Scott Ullger finished the game as the acting manager.

Jeff Francis (3-11) lost his fifth straight decision, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk.

Francis got one out in the eighth before back-to-back singles by Casilla and Joe Mauer chased him. Crow entered, and Cuddyer met him with a single that broke a tie at 3-all.

“I take a lot of responsibility for what I do on the mound, and I think I expect more out of myself than anybody else does,” Francis said. “I feel like I can get out of that inning, but I’ll give the ball to Aaron any day. I know the way that guy can throw. I’m not disappointed with him at all, only with my performance.”

Still stuck six games under .500, the Twins are opening the second half with 12 straight home games, all against AL Central opponents. Minnesota used a 24-11 surge going into the All-Star break to cut their 10-game deficit.

The Twins now trail Cleveland by six games.

“When you put yourself in a hole, that mountain when you’re standing at the bottom of it, it looks like it never ends,” Cuddyer said. “But when you’re climbing and taking every step, that next step looks closer. That’s kind of the way we relayed it. Every night you go out and try to figure out a way to win, and by the time it’s all said and done, hopefully you’ve climbed to the top.”

Playing a Central team is usually a good tonic for Minnesota, which has won 13 of its last 16 games against division foes. The Twins have also won 16 of their last 21 home games.

Nathan could play a big part in Minnesota’s resurgence. He certainly caught the eye of Royals manager Ned Yost.

“His fastball is down from what it used to be, but it still looks crisp. His breaking ball looks a lot sharper, to me, than it did,” Yost said. “But I ain’t seen him in a long time.”

Alcides Escobar homered for Kansas City, which has lost six of seven to the Twins.

Carl Pavano pitched seven innings for Minnesota, allowing three runs and six hits. He cruised through the first four innings, allowing just two hits.

The Royals broke through with Escobar’s two-out homer in the fifth and added a run in the sixth as Melky Cabrera singled, stole second and scored on a groundout by Eric Hosmer.

Mauer had an RBI grounder, Cuddyer singled and Delmon Young doubled for a 2-0 lead in the first. Butera’s second homer made it 3-0 in the fourth.

Francis retired 11 batters in a row before Casilla’s single in the eighth.

— Associated Press —

Matt Capps insisted there’s no difference to him, pitching on the road or at his home ballpark.

But Target Field has not been a friendly place lately for the scuffling former All-Star closer.

Eric Hosmer hit a two-run, two-out homer in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 2-1 victory Friday night, the seventh blown save this season for Capps to match the major league lead.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever struggled like this,” Capps said, adding: “Nobody’s more disappointed right now. It’s not fun.”

Capps (2-5) was booed mildly after Melky Cabrera’s leadoff four-pitch walk and loudly after Hosmer’s drive to straightaway center field. Capps couldn’t hold the lead in a save situation for the seventh time in 22 tries, tying Carlos Marmol of the Chicago Cubs for most in the majors.

In his last four appearances at home, Capps has blown two saves, allowing 11 hits, seven earned runs, two walks and two homers in just 2 2/3 innings.

“It’s been a rough year from the word `go’ for me,” said Capps, an All-Star last season for the Washington Nationals before coming to Minnesota in a trade for prize catching prospect Wilson Ramos. “I appreciate the support I do get, and all I can say is I’m going to keep grinding. I’m not giving up.”

Tim Collins (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, the first by the Royals in their last six games against the Twins, and Joakim Soria escaped a jam in the ninth for his 16th save in 21 tries. Soria empathized with his opponent after watching his teammates rally.

“He’s a great pitcher. He’s not that bad. He’s not wild. Nothing. He’s just hit a bit of bump there … ” Soria said. “I had that one this season. He’ll figure it out. He’s a really good guy and a great baseball player. I think the fans, he needs their support.”

After Cabrera stole second base, Alex Gordon grounded out and Jason Repko raced to catch a sharp flyball by Billy Butler in the right field corner for the second out of the ninth. But Hosmer — after swinging late and missing a high fastball — connected for his ninth homer this season to spoil seven shutout innings by Twins starter Nick Blackburn.

“Anytime you’re facing a good closer like Capps, especially with a good fastball, got to try to jump on it early,” Hosmer said.

Said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire: “Everything gets thrown on the closer. Sure, he gave it up at the end, but a lot of people misfired, too. … We have all the trust in the world in him.”

Soria gave up a leadoff single to Jim Thome, and Matt Tolbert entered as a pinch runner.

Danny Valencia’s drive to the warning track in center raised hope for the home team of a walk-off win, but the ball died in time for Cabrera to catch it for the first out. Delmon Young’s soft single to center sent Tolbert to third, but Tolbert came home on a roller in front of the plate by pinch-hitter Luke Hughes and was easily tagged out. Tsuyoshi Nishioka grounded out to end the game.

“It was pretty bad on my part. I thought I could’ve made it at first. I thought it wasn’t hit that hard, and then it kind of just got to him a little quicker than I thought,” Tolbert said.

Blackburn gave up only four hits and two walks while striking out three, his best start in a month. Royals starter Luke Hochevar who looked just as comfortable on the mound and was equally effective, finishing seven innings with only three hits allowed.

Ben Revere ran his way to the Twins’ only run, stealing second base, moving up on a ground ball and scoring easily on Hochevar’s wild pitch in the fourth.

Then with one out in the sixth, Revere really revved up the crowd with a highlight-reel three-base hit — putting the trip in triple. His line drive to right field bounced past Jeff Francoeur to the bottom of the wall, and he sped so fast around second base that he lost his balance and fell forward halfway to third. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Revere barely lost momentum as he did a full somersault, got up without his helmet and slid head-first into the base with room to spare.

— Associated Press —

It had been an awful long time since Delmon Young and Trevor Plouffe played at Target Field, albeit for completely different reasons.

Young had been on the disabled list since June 26 with a sprained ankle, while Plouffe was sent down to Triple-A on June 2 after struggling badly at shortstop. Both returned on Thursday night to get the Minnesota Twins off to a good start in a critical home stand.

Plouffe hit a big two-run homer and Young had three hits to lead the Twins to an 8-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

“That’s the mentality I have now, just help the team anyway I can,” said Plouffe, who tore up the minor leagues with 15 home runs in 51 games. “I don’t know where I’m going to be playing, but it doesn’t matter. When I get in there, have good at-bats and play sound defense.”

Francisco Liriano (6-7) gave up three runs — one earned — on seven hits with four strikeouts in seven innings and Joe Mauer had two hits and two RBIs for the Twins.

Melky Cabrera had two hits, an RBI and threw a runner out at home from center field for the Royals, who watched their bullpen let a close game get out of hand.

Right-hander Blake Wood walked three and hit another batter while being charged with four runs in a disastrous seventh inning in relief of Bruce Chen (5-3).

Chen gave up four runs on nine hits with three walks in five innings for the Royals.

“Just a day, actually the first day all year where nobody was sharp,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Alexi Casilla and Tsuyoshi Nishioka chipped in two hits each for the Twins, who have won seven of their last nine games.

The Twins went 24-11 in the final 35 games before the All-Star break, shaving 10 games off their deficit in the AL Central and started the night trailing Detroit by 6 1/2 games. It marked the start of a crucial stretch of 12 home games in a row, all against division foes.

“It’s a big mountain we put ourselves at the bottom of and we’re still working our way back up,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

The Royals were showing some promise of finally digging out of the cellar early in the season, starting the year 20-17. They are 17-38 since then to fade out of contention, though youngsters like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are giving their long-suffering fans reason to hope that better days are around the corner.

It was ugly early for the Twins, who committed two errors in the first inning. Cabrera scored on a wild pitch and Alex Gordon hustled home from second base on the play after Mauer’s ill-advised pitch to Liriano at home plate skipped by him.

With a fastball that never topped 84 mph, Chen was somehow able to get through four scoreless innings. He stranded seven runners before the Twins finally got to him in the fifth.

Young hit his second double of the game to score Valencia and Plouffe’s two-run homer hit high off the foul pole in left field to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.

“After the Babe Ruth-like performance he put on when I was in Rochester with him, it was good to see him first game up here go deep,” Young said.

Plouffe, who was recalled from Triple-A to start this game, was initially slated to play first base. But Jim Thome was a late scratch with a left toe injury, so Plouffe was moved to DH.

Wood came out to start the seventh and walked Ben Revere with the bases loaded before hitting Casilla to make it 6-3. Mauer followed with a two-run single of Everett Teaford to cap the four-run inning.

— Associated Press —

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As temperatures neared 100 and Justin Verlander’s pitch count mounted, Jim Leyland thought seriously about replacing his hard-working All-Star.

But with whom?

“No matter where I looked — my bullpen, their bullpen, in the stands — I couldn’t find anybody any better,” Leyland quipped. “So he’s going to be out there.”

With the heat index reaching 113 on the stadium concourse, Verlander threw 119 pitches in 7 2/3 innings and beat Kansas City 2-1 Sunday afternoon, vaulting Detroit into first place in the AL Central and making him the first Tigers pitcher in 24 years with 12 wins prior to the All-Star break.

“I knew it would be a grind out there, as hot as it was,” said Verlander. “I took my time between pitches and just tried to slow things down a little bit. I felt like that helped.”

The 28-year-old right-hander (12-4) threw 82 strikes in his 119 pitches and improved to 12-2 in 18 starts against the Royals. The first Tiger since Jack Morris in 1987 with 12 wins before the break, he struck out the side in the second and sixth and fanned nine altogether, raising his league-leading strikeout total to 147. He allowed six hits and did not walk a batter while getting charged with one unearned run. He has not allowed more than two runs in nine straight starts.

Verlander could remember only one game this hot.

“Maybe Atlanta a year or two ago. It was smoking hot there, too. I just tried to take all the time I could to get my breath and not let myself get in fast-forward mode and all of a sudden find yourself with a couple of guys on and you’re gassed.”

The Royals, who lost three of the four games against their AL Central rivals, went into the break with a league-worst 37-54 record. Eric Hosmer doubled leading off the ninth against Jose Valverde, but was cut down on a close play trying to steal third. That was the second out, then Mike Moustakas flied out.

Both Verlander and Leyland said they thought he was safe until seeing the replay. Then they thought Brandon Inge blocked him off.

Hosmer still thinks he was safe.

“I know I got my hand in there 100 percent,” he said. “You know, it’s a tough call for him, but it’s a shame it’s the last inning and the game ended like that. It was a tough way to lose.”

The Tigers, winners of four of their last five, moved a half-game ahead of Cleveland, which lost to Toronto 7-1.

“That doesn’t really mean anything,” Leyland said. “That means we’ve played a half a game better than somebody else the first half. This is going to be up for grabs. The Twins and White Sox are right there. Cleveland’s right there. It’s better than being down, behind. But I’m proud of the guys. Unbelievable effort. Guys are tired.”

Jeff Francis (3-10) took the loss even though he had one of the his best outings of the season, going six-plus innings and surrendering two runs on just four hits, with one walk and six strikeouts, matching his season high.

“There’s been a lot of games we could have won and haven’t,” said Francis. “But you know, you put it behind you. We still have a half to go to turn things around, make some adjustments and play better baseball.”

Verlander lost the shutout in the eighth when Alcides Escobar singled, went to third on Chris Getz’s single and scored with two outs when Inge threw high to first on Alex Gordon’s slow roller to third. Joaquin Benoit relieved and struck out Billy Butler with two on and two out.

“That was the biggest out of the game,” said Leyland. “And probably nobody will notice it.”

Valverde earned his 24th straight save. He saved all three of the victories against KC.

It was 95 degrees with a heat index of 105 when the game started and 97, 112 by the sixth inning.

Francis retired the first nine Tigers but Casper Wells doubled leading off the fourth and made it 1-0 on an RBI single by Brennan Boesch. In the sixth, Wells walked, went to second with his first career steal and came home on Magglio Ordonez’s RBI single.

Verlander, as usual against KC, was dominant most of the hot, sticky afternoon.

After Butler singled leading off the second, struggling rookie Moustakas broke an 0 for 21 streak with a two-out single into right. But Verlander ended the threat by striking out Brayan Pena. Jeff Francoeur singled to start the Royals fifth, went to second on a wild pitch and to third on Moustakas’ roller to first. But Verlander kept him there by striking out Pena and retiring Escobar on an easy infield grounder.

“It was a really well-pitched game. We just matched up against a really good pitcher,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “We did what we wanted to do, we wanted to keep it close and have a chance to win it late, we just couldn’t push the run across.”