festivities to look back at what was the b

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sitting in his office about 10 feet away from the Kansas City Royals locker room, manager Ned Yosts voice was nearly drown out by the thunderous hip hop music blaring and the full-throated cackling from his players in the next room. The young Royals have good reason to celebrate these days. Alcides Escobar tied a career high with four RBIs on two doubles and Salvador Perez homered to lift the Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night. "Thats what we need," Perez said. "Have some fun and play the game hard." Danny Duffy (5-7) gave up one run and four hits while striking out three in 5 2-3 innings and Mike Moustakas had two hits for the Royals. Kansas City (43-39) has won three of four and is off to its best start since 2003. "Were very confident in what we have in the tank," Duffy said. "Weve got a great offence, great lineup. The defence is always flashing the leather. When we go out there and make pitches, its going to be a good night." Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits while also striking out three in 5 2-3 innings for the Twins. Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI in his return from the disabled list for Minnesota, which has lost six of its last seven games to drop into last place in the AL Central. "Weve been facing some pretty decent pitching, and I dont know if its pressing," said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose Twins went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. "I just know were just not getting enough big hits right now. Were not putting any runs on the board. A lot of pressure on our pitchers to be really good." The Royals entered the night 3 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division and 1 1/2 games out of the AL wild card. For a team that has been endlessly rebuilding and hasnt made the playoffs since 1985, those are encouraging numbers as the season reaches its midpoint. They grabbed everyones attention with a 10-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place in June, but had lost seven of 10 games as the bats cooled off. The Royals signed 42-year-old Raul Ibanez on Monday, hoping he can help boost the teams scuffling offence and give a little extra support to a solid starting rotation. Ibanez broke into the big leagues with the Royals a decade ago, but hit just .157 in 57 games for the Angels this season. They had plenty of offence with him on the bench on Monday night. Pino was shaky early, getting tagged for a two-run double by Escobar in the second inning and an RBI-single from Alex Gordon in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. Perezs solo homer in the sixth ended Pinos day and the Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth, padding their lead with Escobars second two-run double of the game. "When youre not going good, youre not capitalizing on mistakes," Yost said. "When youre playing well, you do capitalize on mistakes. Thats exactly what we did tonight, which was big. Those were two big runs right there. Thats a lot of breathing room." NOTES: Twins GM Terry Ryan said prized prospect Byron Buxton is getting close to returning from a wrist injury that has kept him out for most of the season. Ryan said there still is no timetable for a return, but hed be surprised if Buxton wasnt back on the field sometime in July. ... Twins RF Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double in the fifth inning. ... Moustakas made two stellar plays at 3B, a lunging catch on a liner by Kendrys Morales in the second and a scoop and force out at 3B to end a threat in the seventh. ... Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-6, 5.74) will start the second game of the series against RHP James Shields (8-3, 3.79). Greg Little Womens Jersey . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. DJ Moore Youth Jersey . - David Tomasek had two goals in regulation time and was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Belleville Bulls upset the Oshawa Generals 6-5 on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-greg-little-panthers-jersey/ . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo. Ryan Kalil Panthers Jersey . Mark Van Guilder, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons also scored for the Admirals (22-13-10), who are 2-0-2 in their last four outings, while Roussel tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Greg Pateryn scored once for the Bulldogs (20-22-4), who lost their fifth straight contest, and also assisted on Gabriel Dumonts goal. DJ Moore Panthers Jersey . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years.Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney announced Sunday the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Chandler Barnard from the San Angelo Colts of United League for a player to be named later. Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Associaation experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox.dddddddddddd Barnard will start todays game against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Newman Outdoor Field at 1 p.m., as the Goldeyes conclude a seven-game road trip. The Goldeyes begin a six-game homestand Tuesday night against the Grand Prairie AirHogs, who will be making their first visit to Shaw Park. ' ' '