Salvador Perez homered twice, got four hits and sent a message to Minnesota pitcher Andrew Albers after a high-and-inside fastball, leading the Kansas City Royals over the Twins 8-1 Wednesday night.

Danny Duffy (2-0) pitched 6 2-3 shutout innings hours after being promoted from Triple-A. Minnesota lost its fourth in a row.

Perez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, a 415-foot drive into the upper deck in left field off Albers (2-2) that made it 3-0.

When Perez came up again in the sixth, Albers threw an up-and-in pitch that sent Perez tumbling to the ground.

The 23-year-old catcher, who missed a week with a concussion earlier this month, took his helmet off and pointed at his side, apparently telling Albers to aim lower if he’s going to throw inside. Albers held both of his arms out and had a few words of his own for Perez.

Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt warned both benches. Perez then struck back by lining a single that whizzed over Albers’ head.

Perez hit another two-run homer in the eighth, connecting off reliever Casey Fien in the eighth.

Perez had his first career multihomer game. In 15 games against the Twins this season, Perez is hitting .410 with four doubles, three homers and nine RBIs.

Duffy was called up from the minors and replaced the struggling Wade Davis in the rotation. Duffy allowed five hits and struck out seven in his third start with the Royals since having elbow surgery last June.

Duffy has shuffled among Kansas City, Triple-A Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas as he comes back from surgery.

In three August starts with the Royals, Duffy has a 1.10 ERA and has struck out 17. The tall and thin lefty hasn’t given up a run in his last 12 2-3 innings.

The Twins struck out 10 times and set the club record for strikeouts in a season with 31 games to go. Minnesota batters have fanned 1,127 times, breaking the previous mark of 1,121 set in 1997.

Chris Colabello whiffed on a changeup from Duffy in the fifth inning to set the record.

Justin Morneau hit his 16th home run in the ninth to prevent the Twins from being shut out.

Alex Gordon hit a solo homer as the Royals beat Minnesota for the eighth time in their last nine games.

— Associated Press —

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 —

As tough as it was to handle, the weak-hitting Kansas City Royals hoped Friday night’s loss to Washington might at least ignite a slumbering offense.

But no such luck.

Facing Washington right-hander Jordan Zimmermann on Saturday night, they fell right back into an offensive funk.

They managed nine hits.

But all were singles as the Nationals handed the Royals a seventh straight loss with a 7-2 decision.

”I haven’t figured it out, and I’m not going to figure it out,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”We’re going to get a game where we get some hits and win a game and get it going.”

After a 19-5 surge gave fans hope for an end to a 27-year playoff drought, the Royals have lost seven in a row and 10 of 12.

”It’s frustrating,” left fielder Alex Gordon said. ”I don’t like losing streaks and I don’t like losing streaks after we’ve been playing so well. We’re professionals. We’ll keep playing and grinding.”

Do the Royals have another good streak left?

”This team has another good run in it,” Yost said. ”It sure does.”

Rebounding from one of his worst career outings, Zimmermann went 7 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and eight hits.

He struck out seven and walked just one. After George Kottaras singled with two out in the fourth, Zimmermann retired 11 straight until Emilio Bonifacio walked with one out in the eighth.

”I had four pitches working and when I have that going, it’s usually a fun night to be out there,” he said. ”And the offense got some runs early and allowed me to settle in.”

Ian Desmond hit his 18th home run as the Nationals won their fifth in a row, all on the road. The Nationals have won 11 of 15 overall while the Royals have been staggering.

”He has four above-average pitches and everything he throws dives into lefties,” K.C.’s Eric Hosmer said of Zimmermann. ”I can see why he’s so tough to hit.”

The victory tied Zimmermann with Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals for the NL lead in wins.

”He had a tremendous slider, pitched with conviction and kept his fastball down,” Yost said. ”He had us off balance all night.”

Wade Davis (6-10) allowed seven runs and eight hits in six innings, including Desmond’s two-run home run in the sixth. He walked three and struck out four.

The Nationals, who scored seven runs in the fourth inning of a come-from-behind 11-10 victory on Friday, scored four in the same inning against Davis.

Ryan Zimmerman walked leading off and sped to third on a single by Bryce Harper, who had an RBI single in the first.

Wilson Ramos hit a sacrifice fly, Tyler Moore delivered an RBI double and Chad Tracy brought in two more runs with a bloop single.

”We’re putting good at-bats together, seeing the ball well, pitching well, playing good defense,” Desmond said. ”It’s just been a matter of time. We’re starting to get hot. Guys are starting to see the ball better.”

The Royals bunched three singles off Zimmermann in the third, including Hosmer’s run-scoring hit into left-center.

Fernando Abad relieved Zimmermann with two out and one on in the eighth and allowed an RBI single to Mike Moustakas before David Lough struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

With the victory, the Nationals guaranteed a winning interleague record for the third straight season.

— Associated Press —

Jayson Werth hit a two-run homer, Bryce Harper drove in three runs and the Washington Nationals rallied from a six-run hole before holding off the Kansas City Royals for an 11-10 victory Friday night.

Harper also made a terrific catch in the ninth for Washington, which scored seven times in the fourth inning of its fourth consecutive win. Ian Desmond had a pair of hits during the outburst.

Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman, Tyler Moore and Anthony Rendon also had RBIs as the Nationals piled up 11 runs for the second time in three games – they beat the Cubs 11-6 on Tuesday night.

Just like in that one, Tyler Roark (4-0) came in to spell some sloppy starting pitching for the Nationals. He earned the win by allowing one hit and one walk in 4 2-3 innings.

Bruce Chen (5-2) was tagged for the second straight time for Kansas City. He allowed seven runs and six hits with five walks in 3 2-3 innings in his shortest outing of the year.

The Royals trailed 11-8 heading to the ninth, but Alex Gordon walked and Eric Hosmer doubled before Billy Butler’s RBI single. Justin Maxwell added a two-run single to make it 11-10, but closer Rafael Soriano induced a pair of fly balls to end the game.

The first flyout came on a dramatic sliding catch by Harper in right on a blooper by Emilio Bonifacio. The second came on the first pitch to Alcides Escobar, giving Soriano is 33rd save.

Hosmer and Maxwell each homered and drove in three runs for the Royals, who have lost six straight. Salvador Perez drove in a pair of runs, and Gordon added three hits.

Royals manager Ned Yost convened a closed-door meeting before the game in the hopes of igniting an offense that scored five runs in a three-game sweep against the last-place White Sox.

It looks as if the message worked.

Gordon hit a leadoff double in the first and Hosmer followed with a drive to left, quickly staking Kansas City to a 2-0 lead. Maxwell added a solo shot later in the inning.

The Royals kept battering Gio Gonzalez in the second. Jamey Carroll got his first hit in 17 at-bats since arriving in a trade from Minnesota. Gordon hit an RBI double, Hosmer drove in a run with a single, and Butler’s run-scoring base hit made it 6-0.

Then the Nationals started their comeback.

Denard Span’s triple in the third scored their first run. In a preview of the trouble to come, Chen loaded the bases before escaping the inning on Werth’s fly ball to center.

Chen’s nightmare finally came to pass in the fourth inning, when the veteran left-hander served up three singles to the first four batters he faced. Rendon’s sacrifice fly scored the first of what would turn into seven runs for Washington in the inning.

Span’s two-out walk loaded the bases, and Zimmerman walked to score a run. Harper’s double off the wall in center cleared the bases and tied it at 6, forcing Yost to trundle to the mound for a pitching change. Werth greeted Louis Coleman with his two-run homer.

The Royals cut the lead to 8-7 in the bottom half on Perez’s base hit, but the Nationals piled on three more runs in the seventh inning.

The first came on Moore’s RBI single, and the final two runs scored when second baseman Chris Getz threw the ball away trying to make a play at home – a fitting way to cap what turned out to be a circus-like night for the Kansas City defense.

— Associated Press —

Conor Gillaspie homered leading off the 12th inning Thursday night, lifting the Chicago White Sox to a 4-3 victory over the Royals and their first three-game sweep in Kansas City since 2005.

Gillaspie drove the second pitch he got from Luke Hochevar (3-2) just over the outstretched glove of right fielder Justin Maxwell for his 11th homer.

The tiebreaking shot came after Jacob Petricka made his major league debut in the 11th inning for the White Sox, inheriting runners on first and second with nobody out. Petricka calmly got Salvador Perez to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Addison Reed preserved Chicago’s sixth straight win, and the first of Petricka’s career, when the he left the tying run on second base for his 34th save.

Reed walked Billy Butler to start the 12th, and pinch runner Jarrod Dyson swiped second base with nobody out. Reed recovered to strike out pinch hitter David Lough, got Chris Getz to line out to shortstop, and then retired Emilio Bonifacio on a lazy fly ball to end the game.

It was the fifth straight loss for Kansas City, and the eighth in 10 games overall.

Emilio Bonifacio, Alcides Escobar and Jamey Carroll each drove in a run for the Royals in the fifth inning. Alexei Ramirez, Dayan Viciedo and Josh Phegley had RBIs for the White Sox.

Early on, James Shields and Carlos Quintana were engaged in quite a pitching duel.

Shields worked around a pair of singles in the first, and then retired 10 straight White Sox batters before Avisail Garcia singled to lead off the fifth.

Quintana set down the first nine Royals he faced in the game, including four strikeouts in the first two innings. His run ended with a leadoff single by Alex Gordon in the fourth.

The Royals finally broke through in the fifth inning in very Royals-esque fashion.

The light-hitting club managed to load the bases on a walk by Billy Butler and back-to-back singles by Maxwell and Mike Moustakas. Bonifacio followed with an RBI single, and Escobar and Carroll added back-to-back sacrifice flies to give the Royals a 3-0 lead.

Yep, three runs on a walk, three singles and two sacrifice flies.

The White Sox got two of the runs back in the sixth. The first came home on a one-out single by Ramirez, and the second on a blooper to center by Viciedo that fell just beyond the outstretched glove of Escobar retreating from shortstop and just in front of center fielder Dyson.

Phegley’s double off first base and into right field tied it in the seventh.

Shields and Quintana were both done after seven innings. Shields allowed nine hits and struck out eight without a walk, while Quintana allowed four hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.

The White Sox nearly pulled ahead off Royals closer Greg Holland in the ninth.

Phegley reached second when a sharp grounder got past Moustakas at third base and into left field with two outs. Danks then ripped a pitch right off Holland, but Perez leaped out from behind the plate, grabbed the ball and threw a strike to first to end the inning.

— Associated Press —

Dayan Viciedo hit his second career grand slam to highlight a five-run inning for the White Sox, and Andre Rienzo picked up his first career win for Chicago by shutting down the punchless Kansas City Royals in a 5-2 victory Wednesday night.

Rienzo (1-0) allowed only a sacrifice fly to Mike Moustakas while cruising through six innings to win for the first time in five starts. The Brazilian right-hander allowed just five hits and two walks in helping the White Sox win their season-best fifth straight game.

Addison Reed worked the ninth for his second save of the series and 33rd on the year.

Viciedo’s grand slam off Jeremy Guthrie (12-10) in the fourth followed an RBI single by Adam Dunn that had given the White Sox the lead. Their five runs in the frame matched the number of runs the Royals’ woeful offense had mustered in the previous 22 innings.

David Lough drove in another run for the Royals in the sixth, but that was all they managed in another lackluster offensive performance. They finished with six hits on the night.

The Royals were shut out by John Danks and the White Sox bullpen in the series opener, and their inability to get anybody home has been the biggest reason they’ve lost four straight and seven of their last nine. That calamitous slide has dropped Kansas City from wild-card contention after climbing within four games of the final spot just over a week ago.

On this night, it was Rienzo who took a turn breezing through the Royals.

The 25-year-old from Sao Paulo, one of just two Brazilians in the big leagues, didn’t allow a hit until back-to-back singles in the fourth. He allowed another in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Otherwise, he was basically untouchable — just as he had been in the minors.

After rocketing through two levels last season, Rienzo began catching the eye of White Sox brass at Triple-A Charlotte. He was 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA over his last four starts, including a no-hitter on July 25 — just before his call-up to the big league team.

He allowed just one unearned run over six innings his last time out at Minnesota.

Guthrie would have taken a stat line like that Wednesday night.

The Royals’ right-hander threw 72 of 100 pitches for strikes, an exceptionally high rate. The problem was that he couldn’t make anybody miss. The White Sox pounded out nine hits off him.

After winning four straight, Guthrie has been savagely roughed up in his last three starts. He gave up five runs on 10 hits in a loss to Boston a couple weeks ago, and four runs on a career-high 13 hits at Detroit in another defeat his last time out.

— Associated Press —

John Danks shut down Kansas City’s scuffling offense for eight innings, and the Chicago White Sox did just enough damage against Ervin Santana to squeak out a 2-0 victory over the Royals on Tuesday night.

Danks (3-10) ended an eight-start winless streak by scattering seven hits and a walk. That the veteran left-hander’s finest start of the season came against the Royals wasn’t much of a surprise: Danks improved to 5-0 against them in 13 career starts.

Addison Reed worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his 32nd save. It wrapped up the first shutout win for the last-place White Sox since a 3-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels on May 17.

Gordon Beckham homered off Santana (8-7) in the first inning for the only earned run. The only other run came in the second, when Paul Konerko trotted home from third on a passed ball that curiously disappeared in the padding behind home plate.

Except for those two blemishes, Santana matched zeros with Danks through six innings. He walked two and struck out five, including Josh Phegley to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.

It was the fourth straight win for the White Sox and the third consecutive loss for the Royals, who are slip-sliding out of wild-card contention after a spirited run.

The biggest mistake of Santana’s night came on the 1-1 pitch he threw to Beckham. The second baseman turned on it with a fury and sent it sailing into the Royals’ bullpen in left field for his fourth homer of the year.

Beckham’s drive was impressive, but the most memorable play of the night happened in the second.

Konerko led off with a double, and Avisail Garcia singled to put runners on the corners. Santana was facing Conor Gillaspie when he threw a pitch that bounced off the tip of Salvador Perez’s glove, and then bounced toward the backstop behind home plate.

The ball disappeared in the green padding above one of the advertising signs, and Perez threw up his hands as if to say, ”What now?” Meanwhile, Konerko had started to trot home with a confused look on his face, and for a moment nobody in the ballpark seemed to know what was going on.

Garcia was awarded second base, but Santana retired the next three batters to limit the damage.

Kansas City’s bullpen pitched three shutout innings once Santana left the game, but its woeful offense couldn’t break through against Danks, who came into the game with a 4.54 ERA. He never allowed a runner to reach third base while winning for the first time since July 2.

— Associated Press —