KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Everybody in Detroit’s lineup had at least one hit and scored one run, their season-best offensive onslaught spurring the Tigers to a 16-4 rout of the Kansas City Royals in the opener of their four-game series Thursday night.

The Tigers established a season-high for runs just two days after their 14-5 blitzing of the Dodgers, and took a 5 1/2-game lead over the second-place Royals in the AL Central.

Drew Smyly (5-8) allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings for Detroit.

Jeremy Guthrie (5-8) gave up a career-worst eight earned runs on eight hits, three walks and two hit batters. He was mercifully pulled with no outs in the fifth, which means the Royals’ veteran has now allowed 16 earned runs in eight-plus innings covering his last two starts.

The Tigers stunned the Royals with three runs in the first, added three more in the fourth and delivered the haymaker with a season-best eight-run fifth. Detroit wound up with 19 hits in the game, getting at least one hit and one run from all 11 players who stepped to the plate.

Torii Hunter led the charge, leading off the fifth with a homer and adding a single later in the inning to finish with three RBIs. Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez also drove in three, and Ian Kinsler, Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez drove in two runs apiece.

Billy Butler homered in the fourth for KC. Eric Hosmer hit a two-run shot in the seventh.

The hot-hitting Tigers have won three straight overall, and four straight in Kansas City, building some momentum with three games remaining before the All-Star break.

The tone of the game was set in the first inning, when four of the first five Tigers reached base. A series of singles, groundouts and sacrifice flies resulted in a 3-0 lead.

Kansas City scratched out a run in the second, only for Detroit to score three more in the fourth. Cabrera delivered the big blow with a two-out, two-run double.

The floodgates finally opened in the fifth, when Hunter began a parade of 12 batters to the plate with his 12th homer of the season. Castellanos also had two hits in the inning, and everybody in the lineup besides Austin Jackson and Don Kelly reached base before the carnage was over.

Guthrie was pulled after two batters, and recently signed Royals reliever Scott Downs gave up two more runs while retiring one batter. Louis Coleman, recalled from Triple-A Omaha, gave up four more runs to cap the worst pitching performance by the Royals this season.

Kansas City had previously allowed 12 runs in a loss to Toronto on May 31.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Gordon will have to be content with watching All-Star teammates Salvador Perez and Greg Holland when the Royals triumvirate heads to Target Field in Minneapolis next week.

The Royals announced Thursday that Gordon will miss the annual Midsummer Classic after visiting with a specialist and receiving an injection for his sprained right wrist. Angels shortstop Erick Aybar was added to the American League roster as his replacement.

Gordon, Holland and Perez are all headed to their second straight All-Star game.

”Obviously this is not what I wanted to happen, especially coming into the All-Star break and being on the All-Star team, but the most important thing is to be ready for our games,” Gordon said before the start of a four-game series Thursday night against Detroit.

”To be healthy after the All-Star break is the big thing here,” he said.

Gordon spent nearly seven years in the big leagues before making his first All-Star team last season, and the three-time Gold Glove winner is having another solid year. Along with sure-handed defense in left field, he was hitting .268 with nine homers and 44 RBIs.

”It’s an honor to be part of the game, whether you play or not,” Gordon said. ”Just to be around some of the greatest players in the game and experience all the festivities that go with it, (Derek) Jeter’s last All-Star game and things like that, it’s special.”

Royals manager Ned Yost said he’s holding off on putting Gordon on the disabled list in hopes that resting him against Detroit and during the All-Star break will be enough.

Meanwhile, Royals left-hander Jason Vargas remained in Florida after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday night. Yost said that Vargas, who is 8-4 with a 3.31 ERA, was expected to remain hospitalized on Thursday before returning to Kansas City on Friday.

Reliever Louis Coleman was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take his place on the roster.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas was also feeling better after an illness, Yost said, though he remained out of the starting lineup. Danny Valencia was taking his place.

The recent spate of injuries and sickness hardly tarnishes what has been a positive first half for the Royals, who began the 4 1/2 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central.

Their pitching staff and defense have been among the best in baseball, and an offense that was the culprit in an early season swoon has shown signs in the past couple of weeks of turning around.

The fact that Kansas City got its three amigos in Gordon, Perez and Holland back in the All-Star game is a testament to how far the club has come.

For much of the past two decades, the long-downtrodden franchise has struggled to identify its requisite token All-Star.

Hence, guys such as Mark Redman and Gil Meche found their way onto rosters.

”We were kind of hoping for a few more guys to join us,” Holland said, ”but it’s special to be around Salvy, because he’s helped me personally so much, and so has Gordo, diving and throwing guys out at the plate. Between those two, that’s a big part of my success.”

Perez was voted into the starting lineup this season, but he’ll have a hard time trumping the way he finished his first appearance. He was inserted in last year’s game in time to catch the final pitch that the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera made in an All-Star game.

Holland had pitched the previous inning last year, and remembers walking to the mound at Citi Field in New York and thinking, ”Just don’t screw this up for Mo.”

Now, he’s hoping to be the final pitcher that the AL squad uses in a victory.

”For me it’s rewarding because I’m proud of my work ethic, being able to not be complacent – ‘Hey, I made an All-Star team,’ and start changing your routine. We’ve stayed at it,” Holland said. ”You’re rewarded in multiple years means you’re staying consistent, you’re continuing to work and continuing to get better.”

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Salvador Perez gave the Royals a late lift Wednesday night heading into a key midseason series.

Perez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning and Kansas City beat Tampa Bay 5-4 to take two of three from the Rays.

The second-place Royals return home Thursday night to begin a four-game series against AL Central-leading Detroit, which has a 4 1/2-game lead.

“That was a huge win for us,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “That’s the difference between 4 1/2 games back compared to 5 1/2 games back. Definitely nice to have a little momentum going home for the last four games before the All-Star break. It’s a lot better than the alternative.”

Kirby Yates (0-1), the fifth Tampa Bay reliever, entered with runners at the corners and gave up Perez’s one-out shot into the left-field corner.

Perez wasn’t sure if the drive would stay fair or even clear the low fence near the foul pole.

“As soon as the ball hit on the other side, good for us,” he said.

It’s been a big week for Perez, chosen Sunday to start at catcher for the American League in next week’s All-Star game.

Aaron Crow (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and Greg Holland got three outs for his 24th save.

All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon (sprained right wrist) and third baseman Mike Moustakas (flu) were not in Kansas City’s starting lineup. In addition, left-hander Jason Vargas was taken to the hospital for an appendectomy.

Gordon entered as a ninth-inning defensive replacement. He will have an MRI exam Thursday.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” he said.

Kevin Kiermaier went 4 for 4 with a grand slam for the Rays.

Tampa Bay, which lost for the fourth time in 14 games, missed a chance to gain a game on AL East-leading Baltimore. The Rays remained nine games back of the Orioles in fourth place.

“It stings a little bit,” Yates said. “It’s a game we could have won and we needed to win. Obviously, it doesn’t feel good. It’s a situation where you let your team down, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

After starter Yordano Ventura walked light-hitting Jose Molina to load the bases with two outs in the fourth, Kiermaier sent a shot into the right-field stands to give Tampa Bay a 4-2 lead.

Eric Hosmer hit a first-pitch solo homer with two outs in the first off Alex Cobb that put the Royals up 1-0. It was the first time Cobb pitched against Kansas City since being struck near the right ear June 15 last year by a liner hit by Hosmer.

Cobb, sidelined for two months due to problems that included a concussion and symptoms of vertigo, allowed two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Ventura gave up four runs, five hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out five.

The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but scored just once to take a 2-0 lead on Raul Ibanez’s grounder. Kansas City failed to score with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh when reliever Grant Balfour got a pop fly from Perez.

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays got the key hits and outs when they needed. them

Evan Longoria drove in two runs, Jeremy Hellickson went 4 1/3 innings in his season debut, and the Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Tuesday night.

“We have to win these games like this,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “We’re used to doing this in the past. We’re starting to get that feeling back again now.”

The Rays opened the sixth with three consecutive hits, including a two-run single by Longoria off Jason Vargas (8-4), to take a 2-1 lead. Vargas, who allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, was coming off seven innings in the Royals’ 4-0 win Wednesday against Minnesota.

The Royals went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position, had at least one baserunner every inning, and left 11 on base.

The fourth-place Rays, winners of 10 of their last 13 games, are nine games behind AL East-leading Baltimore.

Hellickson, coming back after arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in January, gave up one run and six hits.

“I was pretty anxious,” Hellickson said. “Had a few butterflies floating around when I was warming up in the outfield. It felt really good to get back on a mound in a big league game.”

James Loney had an RBI double and Logan Forsythe hit a sacrifice fly as Tampa Bay took a 4-1 lead in the eighth. The Rays were aided when Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar fielded Longoria’s grounder with no outs, but was beaten to second base by Brandon Guyer, who had a leadoff bunt single.

“I think Escy thought he was closer to the bag,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Omar (Infante) was standing right on it, and I think Escy thought he was a little closer to the bag. Both guys had pretty good speed. Flip it to Omar and you get one. He was taking a shot at getting two, but he was a step farther than he needed to be on that play.”

Salvador Perez had three RBIs, including a two-run single off Jake McGee in the ninth that pulled the Royals within 4-3. McGee ended the game by striking out Infante with a runner on second.

“Jake didn’t break,” Maddon said.

McGee, the fourth Tampa Bay reliever, went the final 1 1/3 innings for his sixth save. The left-hander entered with two on and two outs in the eighth, and got a flyball from pinch-hitter Danny Valencia.

Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain reached base five times — four hits and a walk. The Royals went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position through eight innings.

Brad Boxberger (2-1) replaced Hellickson in the fifth with runners on first and third with one out and gave up an RBI grounder to Perez that put Kansas City ahead 1-0.

— Associated Press —

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Back on the mound at Tropicana Field, Kansas City’s James Shield looked and felt right at home.

The right-hander sparkled in his return to the stadium where he earned a living for the first seven seasons of his career, limiting the Tampa Bay Rays to three hits and striking out 10 in seven innings to help the Royals beat his former team 6-0 on Monday night.

No pitcher has had more success at The Trop than Shields, who remains Tampa Bay’s all-time leader in victories with 87, including a franchise-best 47 at home.

“It’s definitely special to come back here,” said Shields (9-4), who was dealt to the Royals in December 2012 as part of a seven-player trade in which Kansas City sent 2013 AL rookie of the year Wil Myers and another top young prospect, Jake Odorizzi (4-8), to Tampa Bay.

“There’s so many memories. I’ve thrown some shutouts here and I’ve also thrown some champagne on the field,” the 32-year-old said. “The fans were great tonight to me, welcoming me back, and that’s always a great feeling.”

Shields allowed singles to Ben Zobrist and James Loney in the first two innings, then worked through a jam in the third after giving up a one-out double to Kevin Kiermaier. He retired 10 straight, six by strikeout, before hitting Evan Longoria with a pitch leading off the seventh.

Alex Gordon and Omar Infante drove in runs in the third inning for the Royals, giving Shields all the offensive support he would need to beat Odorizzi.

“We’ve seen that act before,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said of the performance by Shields. “Wrong uniform this time, though.”

Shields, who had struggled in his three most recent starts, rebounded from allowing five runs and nine hits over five innings of a 10-2 loss at Minnesota last week.

“You could tell right off the bat that, OK, let’s get this guy a couple of runs and let’s ride with it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That’s exactly what happened.”

The Royals tacked on two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth — with Infante and Gordon both collecting their second RBIs of the game — and finished with 14 hits.

Wade Davis, another former Tampa Bay pitcher the Royals obtained in the Shields trade, worked a perfect eighth. Scott Downs finished the combined four-hitter, giving up a ninth-inning single to Zobrist.

The loss was just the third in 13 games for the Rays, who were coming off a road trip in which they went 9-2 to climb out of the AL East cellar.

Odorizzi allowed two runs and six hits, struck out eight and walked two in his third career appearance against the Royals, who beat the 24-year-old in Kansas City on April 9.

“All the series we played on the road we played fantastic. I guess we were kind of due for one of these games,” Odorizzi said. “I don’t think this game is really going to set us back that much in the long run.”

Shields won his only previous matchup against his former team 8-2 at Kansas City on April 30, 2013.

He remains Tampa Bay’s career leader in starts, strikeouts and innings pitched, in addition to wins. He won the franchise’s first-ever postseason game and owns the club’s only World Series victory.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Terry Francona heard the boos from the home crowd, and the Cleveland Indians manager didn’t mind one bit.

Francona pulled Corey Kluber two outs short of a complete game in Cleveland’s 4-1 win over Kansas City on Sunday. The crowd of 16,991 wanted to see Kluber, who allowed four hits and struck out 10 in 8 1/3 innings, finish the game, and the fans let Francona know they didn’t agree with his decision.

“I don’t blame them,” Francona said. “If I was managing with my heart, I’d have left him in there, too.”

Kluber (8-6) took a three-hitter into the ninth before Eric Hosmer started the inning with a double. The right-hander, who gave up a solo homer to Mike Moustakas in the fifth, was removed after striking out Salvador Perez.

Kluber also heard the boos and used the opportunity to take a good-natured jab at his manager.

“Kip (second baseman Jason Kipnis) was giving him a hard time, too,” he said. “It was pretty funny, I guess.”

Cody Allen recorded the final two outs for his ninth save, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes homered in a three-run second inning.

Kluber, who walked one, retired the first seven hitters before Jarrod Dyson’s infield single with one out in the third. Lorenzo Cain also had an infield hit in the sixth.

Kluber has been Cleveland’s ace all season. He has four double-figure strikeout games.

“It sure is nice, man, to write his name in there,” Francona said. “He has weapons, he has poise, and he competes.” Francona said.

Kluber is working to stay on an even keel throughout the season.

“I’m trying to be as consistent as I can from start to start,” Kluber said. “I try to avoid the downs as much as possible and keep the good stuff rolling.”

Kluber rarely shows any emotion on the mound, but Francona thinks appearances can be misleading.

“He’s very locked in,” Francona said. “Maybe his demeanor belies the real fire that’s in there. He gets after it.”

Even Moustakas, who walked in the seventh and is 7 for 18 against Kluber, was impressed.

“Everything he was throwing was nasty,” he said.

A lack of run support has kept Kluber from having a better record. He allowed three runs over 20 2/3 innings in his last three starts, but lost twice. Kluber held the Dodgers to one run in 6 2/3 innings on Monday, but was the losing pitcher in a 1-0 defeat.

Both of Cleveland’s home runs came off Danny Duffy (5-8). Santana led off the inning with a line drive that barely cleared the fence in right. Gomes followed with a two-run homer to center.

Michael Brantley, who went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .321, had an RBI single in the fifth.

Santana’s homer came on a 1-1 pitch and was his 13th of the season, tying him with Brantley for the team lead. Ryan Raburn followed with a single, and Gomes hit his 10th home run on a 1-0 pitch.

Cleveland has won four of five and moved within two games of second-place Kansas City in the AL Central. The Royals, who trail first-place Detroit by 4 1-2 games, dropped their first road series since losing two of three against the Los Angeles Angels from May 23-25.

Duffy allowed 10 hits and struck out six in six innings. The left-hander had a 1.69 ERA in six June starts and was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA in his last four road starts.

The Indians placed leadoff hitter and center fielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Bourn has been battling the injury all season and hurt it again running the bases on Saturday.

Left fielder Alex Gordon and designated hitter Billy Butler, who are both in lengthy slumps, were out of Sunday’s lineup. Gordon is mired in a 3 for 40 skid, and Butler has just three hits in 26 at-bats.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — For someone who just endured a beer bath, T.J. House was all smiles.

House allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings for his first major league win and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 7-3 on Saturday night.

House’s teammates celebrated the occasion by dousing him with beer, something the rookie left-hander didn’t mind one bit.

“I got rolled into this little cart and they gave me a shower,” he said. “It was nice. I enjoyed it. I’d take one every time we get a win.”

House (1-2) scattered nine hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. He was making the eighth appearance, and seventh start, of his career.

“It feels great,” House said. “I hadn’t had one yet, but the time came and it was the right time, at home in front of the fans.”

Michael Bourn’s leadoff homer sparked a three-run third inning while Nick Swisher’s bases-loaded single scored two runs in the fifth and finished Jeremy Guthrie (5-7).

Michael Brantley had three hits, including an RBI single in the eighth, for Cleveland.

Bourn left the game after scoring the Indians’ final run because of tightness in his left hamstring. He had surgery on the hamstring in October and began the season on the disabled list. Bourn also missed several games in May with the injury.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona said Bourn was examined following the game.

“We’ll know a lot more (Sunday),” Francona said.

House gave up a run in the first, another in the sixth and Danny Valencia hit a leadoff homer in the seventh. But House retired the next two hitters then was pulled after throwing 87 pitches.

Kansas City loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against closer Cody Allen, pitching in a non-save situation. Allen struck out Lorenzo Cain on a 3-2 pitch before Eric Hosmer swung at the first pitch and bounced into a game-ending double play.

“I think I had Cain in swing mode because he swung at ball four,” Allen said. “I was trying to use Hosmer’s aggressiveness against him because he was trying to tie it up right there.”

House, taken in the 16th round of the 2008 draft, began the season at Triple-A Columbus. He made five starts with the Indians from May 23-June 14 before being sent back to the minors. He was recalled a week ago and lost to Seattle on Sunday against Felix Hernandez, a game in which the Indians were held to one hit.

“He’s pitched well enough to have a win before now,” Francona said. “He’s shown he can get major league hitters out. He’s got a lot of poise out there.”

Hosmer’s RBI groundout in the first gave Kansas City the lead.

Bourn’s third homer of the season tied the game. Jason Kipnis put Cleveland ahead with an RBI double and Lonnie Chisenhall added a run-scoring single.

Kansas City added a run in the sixth, but House struck out Billy Butler with two runners on to end the inning.

“He did a nice job of limiting the damage and threw the ball very well,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Every time we got something going, he found a way to put an end to it.”

Cleveland loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth before Swisher, who was batting .193 and struck out in his first two at-bats, lined a 1-2 pitch to right-center. The hit pushed the lead to 5-1 and gave Guthrie his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander was charged with six runs and allowed a season-high 11 hits in four-plus innings.

Chisenhall was 2 for 3 and raised his batting average to .342, but he doesn’t have enough plate appearances to be listed among the league leaders. Cleveland’s third baseman is making a strong push to be named to the American League All-Star team, which will be announced Sunday. Chisenhall is hitting .350 (55 for 157) with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 44 games since May 14.

— Associated Press —

CLEVELAND (AP) — Yordano Ventura’s dominating performance Friday night produced plenty of superaltives.

“He was extraordinary,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said after the rookie right-hander pitched 8 1/3 stellar innings in the Royals’ 7-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Ventura (6-7) blanked the Indians on four hits until Michael Brantley hit a leadoff homer in the ninth. He was pulled after Jason Kipnis’ one-out single. Ventura allowed six hits and struck out four in the longest outing of his career.

Indians center fielder Michael Bourn had one of the hits off Ventura, a double in the eighth.

“Well he throws 100 (mph), first of all,” Bourn said. “He has a good changeup and a good curveball. We had a couple chances but for the most part he was on tonight.”

Mike Moustakas, who hit a three-run homer in the sixth gave Kansas City a 5-0 lead, was also impressed with Ventura.

“He’s got such electric stuff,” Moustakas said. “That’s what he’s capable of doing.”

Salvador Perez and Christian Colon, making his first major-league start, had three hits apiece while Lorenzo Cain snapped an 0 for 11 skid with an RBI single in the third and a run-scoring double in the fifth.

The Royals, who are a major league-best 11-2 on the road since June 2, rode Ventura to their latest win away from home. He retired the first 10 hitters before Brantley singled with one out in the the fourth. Carlos Santana’s single moved Brantley to third, but Kipnis bounced into a double play.

Ventura entered the ninth with 103 pitches, making it an easy decision for Yost to let him start the inning.

“I wanted to throw the complete game shutout, but I couldn’t do it,” Ventura said through teammate Bruce Chen, who translated for the pitcher, “I was getting ahead of the hitters early in the game. They made some really good plays behind me and that gave me a lot of energy.”

Ventura, who finished with 113 pitches, came within two outs of recording Kansas City’s first complete game of the season.

“I wasn’t going to take him past 120 pitches,” Yost said. “After the home run it was like, OK the next guy who gets on that’s it. He pitched very well.”

Josh Tomlin (5-6), coming off a one-hit, no-walk, 11-strikeout performance against Seattle, allowed five runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Moustakas’ homer to right on a 3-2 pitch broke the game open. The rally began on singles by Perez and Alcides Escobar.

Colon, a late addtion to the lineup when second baseman Omar Infante was scratched with lower back tightness, was 3 for 4, including a triple in the second for his first major league hit. Colon added a double in the fifth and an RBI double in the ninth.

“That was a lot of fun,” he said. “I was taking my ground balls (in pregame activities) and was told I was going to play.”

Ventura has allowed three runs in 21 innings in three career starts against Cleveland. He held the Indians to one run in seven innings in a 4-1 win on June 11 in Kansas City.

Ventura gave up two runs and seven hits in four innings Los Angeles Angels in his last start, an outing that was cut short by a four-hour rain delay. He had pitched seven innings in each of his previous three starts.

The Royals, who are second in the AL Central, are 3-1 on a nine-game road trip and lead third-place Cleveland by four games.

The Indians, who opened a 10-game homestand, have lost four straight at home after winning 11 of 12 at Progressive Field. Cleveland was swept by Detroit in a three-game series June 20-22.

Tomlin turned in the best performance of his career against the Mariners last Saturday. He retired the first 12 hitters before allowing a leadoff single to Kyle Seager in the fifth, Seattle’s only baserunner. Tomlin’s gem marked the sixth time an Indians pitcher recorded 11 strikeouts with no walks in a shutout over the past 100 years.

It was also only the third time since 2002 that a pitcher has recorded a one-hit shutout with at least 11 strikeouts and no walks.

Kansas City left fielder Alex Gordon was hitless in four at-bats and is in a 2-for-36 slump.

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was 0 for 4 and is in a 4 for 35 skid.

— Associated Press —

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 —