KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals were trailing the Twins by a run in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and Kansas City manager Ned Yost was on the top step of the dugout, conferring with catching coach Pedro Grifol about the potential decisions he would have to make.

That's when Yost heard a voice pipe up.

"The bat boy who never says anything turns around and says, `Esky is going to get a hit and Gordo's taking him in the fountain," Yost said. "I said, `OK. Sounds like a pretty good plan."

One that worked out perfectly, too.

Alcides Escobar led off with a blooper to shallow right for a single, and Alex Gordon swatted the second pitch he saw over the right-field wall to give the AL Central-leading Royals a dramatic 2-1 victory over Minnesota -- and help them avoid their first three-game skid since mid-July.

"Got a slider over the plate and put a good swing on it," Gordon said. "Really didn't have any offense going all night and was able to muster up something, so that was great."

The Royals had been shut down all night by Ricky Nolasco, who scattered three hits over seven innings. But after going quietly in the eighth, they managed to break through against Glen Perkins (3-1), who had converted 18 consecutive saves on the road.

"We had a really good game out of Ricky. I feel bad for him because he pitched seven shutout innings and threw the ball well," Perkins said. "He and the team don't have anything to show for it. It's not a fun feeling."

Wade Davis (7-2) earned the win with a perfect ninth inning in relief.

Danny Duffy was nearly as sharp for the Royals as Nolasco was for Minnesota. The left-hander allowed four hits and a pair of walks over 6 2/3 innings, but was in line for the loss after giving up a double to Brian Dozier and a slicing single to Joe Mauer to start the seventh.

The Royals had several chances to push a run across much earlier -- and with much less drama.

Billy Butler was hit by pitches from Nolasco on two occasions, and the first time -- in the second inning -- he advanced to third before getting stranded. Christian Colon was left standing on second in the third inning, and Jarrod Dyson was picked off first base in the sixth.

Dyson was also picked off first base in Monday night's 1-0 loss to the Yankees.

The Twins also had opportunities to push across an early run. Trevor Plouffe grounded into inning-ending double plays in the second and fifth, and Danny Santana was picked off first base in the fourth. Eduardo Escobar was stranded at second base in the sixth.

Those missed chances proved to be important when the ninth inning rolled around.

"I don't think anybody saw that coming," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "a bloop and a blast and a big walk-off for them."

 

Ricky Nolasco, Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
loading...

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

More From KSOO-AM / ESPN Sioux Falls