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 —

The Kansas City Royals today claimed outfielder Quintin Berry on waivers from the Detroit Tigers and immediately optioned him to Triple-A Omaha.

Berry, 28, is a left-handed hitter who spent a large part of last season on the Detroit roster, hitting .258 in 94 games (75-for-291) with 44 runs scored, 10 doubles, six triples, two home runs and 29 RBI.  The speedster also swiped 21 bases without being caught.

A fifth round pick of the Phillies in 2006 out of San Diego State, Berry has also been in the San Diego, New York Mets and Cincinnati organizations prior to joining the Tigers.  He has hit .168 in 49 games for Toledo (AAA) in the Tigers’ chain this year with 15 stolen bases and only two caught stealing.

— Royals Media Relations —

Jurickson Profar sprinted around the bases with a big smile after putting the Rangers ahead for good.

Maybe the only person happier than the 20-year-old rookie was his veteran manager.

Profar hit a tiebreaking home run with two outs in the eighth inning Sunday, lifting the Texas Rangers over the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Profar connected off J.C. Gutierrez (0-1) for his second homer, a solo shot that put Texas ahead 2-1.

Manager Ron Washington was the first to greet Profar in the dugout. With a big grin of his own, Washington snagged the batting helmet off Profar’s head before he was mobbed by teammates.

”What I get a kick out of is he’s not afraid of baseball,” Washington said. ”Opportunities like today are what that young kid lives for. No one in the ballpark expected that. But he gave us a lift right there. He rose to the occasion.”

Profar was recalled from the minors to replace injured second baseman Ian Kinsler on May 19.

The top prospect is hitting .324 and hit his second homer in 10 games this season.

”I was just trying to get on base,” Profar said. ”I guess I did a little better there.”

David Murphy added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 3-1.

Tanner Scheppers (4-0) got two outs in the eighth and Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances.

Yu Darvish allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six as he left with a 1-0 lead after seven innings.

After the game, Darvish said he felt fatigued after throwing 99 pitches. Washington added Darvish told him he was out of gas and didn’t want the Japanese ace to fight through another inning.

Neal Cotts replaced Darvish to start the eighth.

”Any time I throw more than seven innings, I always feel fatigued after that,” Darvish said through an interpreter. ”So it was nothing special today.”

Alex Gordon doubled in the Kansas City eighth and scored on a grounder to make it 1-all.

The Rangers only had three singles coming into the eighth.

Gutierrez retired the first two batters of the inning before Profar came up to the plate. He lined a 1-2 pitch into the seats in right.

Elvis Andrus was on deck and joked about Profar’s speed rounding the bases.

”That was really quick,” Andrus said. ”He’s going to hit plenty of homers in his career so he needs to work on that. He’s fun to watch.”

Rangers center fielder Craig Gentry threw out Billy Butler at home trying to score early as first-place Texas won for the third time in four games.

The Rangers were without All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre, who didn’t play because of a strained left hamstring. Washington said Beltre may be back in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.

Andrus wasn’t in the original starting lineup as he’s been hampered by a sore back in the past week. The shortstop, however, said he felt good when he woke up and convinced Washington he was ready to play.

Kansas City starter Ervin Santana allowed an unearned run and three singles in seven innings. The right-hander had lost his past four starts coming in.

The Royals haven’t scored more than four runs in a game since May 21 and have lost 10 of 12. Kansas City, which brought on Hall of Famer George Brett as interim hitting coach Thursday, scored only seven runs in dropping two of three to Texas.

”We were right there,” Butler said. ”We were one pitch away, one hit away at every point in that game. It’s very frustrating.”

Santana didn’t allow a hit until Nelson Cruz singled with one out in the fourth.

Gordon, who snapped an 0-for-14 rut earlier in the game, led off the eighth with a broken-bat double against Cotts. Alcides Escobar had a sacrifice bunt that moved Gordon to third.

Eric Hosmer hit a chopper to Jeff Baker, who played third base in place of Beltre. Baker’s throw home was wild and Gordon scored easily to tie the game.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the second, Jeff Francoeur hit a liner to center and Gentry made a running catch. Gentry made a perfect throw to home plate and catcher Geovany Soto just got the tag on a sliding Butler.

— Associated Press —

David Lough was willing to endure a little pain to help the Kansas City Royals win.

Robbie Ross hit Lough with a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, and the Royals beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 Saturday.

Lough thought he had a broken right wrist when he left the game after getting plunked. His fears worsened when he couldn’t move his fingers for about 20 minutes.

Lough was finally able to enjoy the three-run 10th inning that lifted the Royals to only their second win in 11 games.

”I had the X-rays and a lot of strength came back in my arm after that,” Lough said. ”I’m glad we got the win more than anything.”

Ross (2-1) had only allowed one run in 24-1-3 innings this season before Saturday.

The left-hander gave up a leadoff single to Alcides Escobar in the 10th. Eric Hosmer followed with a single and Billy Butler was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ross struck out Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain before Lough came up. Lough was hit on a 2-1 pitch to force in the go-ahead run.

That snapped Ross’ scoring streak at 20 1-3 innings.

”Stuff is going to happen no matter what,” Ross said. ”I have to bounce back and get back to helping the team win.”

Lough left the game after getting plunked with a fastball in the right arm. The rookie outfielder tried to stay in the game but slowly walked off the field in obvious pain as he was replaced by pinch-runner Jeff Francoeur.

George Kottaras, who entered the game in the ninth inning, lined a two-run double over the head of Nelson Cruz in right.

The Royals had only scored 22 runs in their past 10 games and were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position before Kottaras broke the game open.

”It was a big win,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. ”(Ross) is one of their guys who has been throwing good.”

Aaron Crow (1-1) pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief and Greg Holland worked a perfect 10th for his ninth save in 11 chances.

The Rangers had runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth but Crow retired Jurickson Profar on a foul pop to end the threat.

James Shields, who had lost his last four starts, allowed one run in seven innings as he looked to win for the first time since April 30. He gave up five hits, struck out five and walked one.

In Shields’ previous four starts, the Royals had only scored seven runs behind him.

”I don’t care about run support as much as winning the game,” Shields said. ”I’ve got to do a better job pitching.”

Nick Tepesch made his first career start against his hometown team and allowed an unearned run in 6 1-3 innings. The rookie gave up seven hits and struck out two.

Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre left the game after the ninth inning with tightness in his left hamstring. Beltre was injured running the bases in the fourth.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Beltre is day to day.

Texas designated hitter Lance Berkman was ejected for arguing a called third strike in the first inning.

Berkman took a 2-2 pitch from Shields that home plate umpire Todd Tichenor ruled was a third strike.

The Rangers’ first-year designated hitter was tossed from the game after a brief argument with Tichenor.

”I didn’t think I said or did anything that would warrant the ejection,” Berkman said ”But he obviously felt different.”

Shields retired 10 in a row before the Rangers scored in the fourth.

Beltre and Cruz singled with two outs. Mitch Moreland then lofted a soft single to center that scored Beltre and put the Rangers ahead 1-0.

Tepesch grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., about 15 minutes from Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium. The right-hander needed only eight pitches to retire the side in the first and recorded nine groundball outs through four innings.

Kansas City tied the game in the fifth when Lough singled with one out and scored on A.J. Pierzynski’s passed ball.

— Associated Press —

The Texas Rangers were unbeatable in May with Derek Holland on the mound.

While Yu Darvish is still the Texas ace, Holland struck out eight and allowed only one earned run over seven innings to wrap up his undefeated month in a 7-2 victory over the weary Kansas City Royals on Friday night.

”He’s certainly pitching well. He was outstanding again,” manager Ron Washington said. ”Once again, he stayed out of the fat part of the plate, and off the fat part of the bat for the most part. If Yu Darvish wasn’t on the staff we have right now, I guess you’d say Derek would probably be the ace.”

Holland (5-2) went 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six May starts, matching a career best for wins in any month. The Rangers, who have the best record in the American League, won all six of those games started by the left-hander.

After Holland gave up a run in the top of the third against the Royals, Nelson Cruz hit a long tiebreaking three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put Texas ahead to stay.

”The offense is going to do their part as long as I do mine,” Holland said. ”My job is to limit the damage. I thought I did a nice job of that. And our guys came back and did what they’re capable of doing, get some runs.”

The Royals, after playing until 3:14 a.m. Friday for a victory at St. Louis, led 1-0 after Adam Moore led off the third with a double and scored on a single by Alcides Escobar. They still had two runners on before a comebacker and an inning-ending grounder.

”That’s part of the reason we’ve been struggling a little bit. You get second and third with one out and we take the lead, have an opportunity to tack some more on, and we just couldn’t,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said.

”They’re giving us a run, they’re playing the infield back and we couldn’t take advantage of it, we hit the ball to the pitcher and we can’t get a two-out hit. … That’s the way things have been going.”

The Royals finished 8-20 in May, losing nine of their last 10 games.

Cruz pulled a ball an estimated 419 feet, his 13th homer hitting a scoreboard high above the first section of seats in left field, to make it 4-1 against Wade Davis (3-5).

”It’s just a weird day, it was a weird day,” Davis said. ”I was a little sluggish, but I made good pitches, I just made one bad one. ”

Adrian Beltre led off the Rangers seventh off the Royals second reliever with his 11th homer, his fourth hit of the game. It was his fourth four-hit game this season – all in May, the first Texas player with four such games in a month. He had 44 hits in May and is hitting .306, over .300 for the first time this season.

Beltre’s eight-game hitting streak includes multiple hits in five of his past seven games. He had an RBI single right before the Cruz homer.

”When you see Adrian recognize a breaking ball and go down to his knee and it leaves the ballpark, you know he’s swinging the bat well,” Washington said.

The Rangers (34-20) have played exactly one-third of their regular season, and matched their most wins at this point.

Kansas City had an eight-game losing streak before the win over the Cardinals. That game started an hour late because of rain, and then had another 4 1/2-hour delay after the Royals took the lead with three runs in the top of the ninth in George Brett’s first game as their hitting coach.

The Royals got to their Texas hotel about 7 a.m. Friday – right fielder Jeff Francoeur said the sun was coming up and people were already having breakfast as team members headed to their rooms.

Davis had a season-high eight strikeouts with no walks in what was otherwise another tough start against Texas, giving up six runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 17.18 ERA in three starts against the Rangers. He twice started for Tampa Bay against them, giving up seven runs in 2 2-3 innings and then eight runs in 3 1-3 innings.

The last batter Davis faced was A.J. Pierzynski, who hit a ball that ricocheted off the padding on the top of the 8-foot wall in straightaway center.

Pierzynski rounded first base with his right hand extended above his head signaling home run. Washington went out to question the play with the umpires, who did go look at the replay that showed clearly that the ball stayed in the park.

After reliever Bruce Chen walked Jurickson Profar to load the bases, No. 9 hitter Leonys Martin hit a two-run double.

— Associate Press —