Twins 4, Royals 3

Denard Span hit a two-run triple and J.J. Hardy belted a solo homer as the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals, completing a three-game sweep.

Matt Tolbert added an RBI single and Brian Duensing worked eight impressive innings for the Twins, who went 8-1 on their nine-game homestand and moved 5 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.

Kansas City, which fell to 3-12 against Minnesota this season, grabbed a 1-0 lead on Brayan Pena's RBI double in the second inning. With two outs in the fifth, the Twins staged a three-run rally to move ahead for good.

After Jose Morales drew a walk, Hardy and Tolbert followed with singles to forge a tie. Span then tripled to right field, plating two for a 3-1 advantage.

Hardy added an insurance run with one out in the seventh, depositing a 2-1 offering from Zack Greinke over the left-center field wall for his sixth home run of the year.

Duensing (8-2) improved to 5-1 as a starter and 4-0 lifetime against the Royals after yielding just one run and six hits. The left-hander, who is 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in four home starts, struck out seven without a walk.

Matt Capps survived a shaky ninth inning, allowing two runs before notching his 11th save with the Twins and 37th overall in 2010.

Greinke (8-12) tossed his third complete game of the season in a losing effort, surrendering four runs and five hits. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, who is 0-4 against Minnesota this year, walked three and struck out four in suffering his first loss in six starts.

Pena and Alex Gordon each drove in a run in the ninth for Kansas City, which has lost 20 of its last 25 road games.

Final1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9thRHE
Kansas City RoyalsRoyals010000002381
Minnesota TwinsTwins000030100450
WP:
LP:
Season Series
MinnesotaStatsKansas City
13-5Vs5-13
.317Batting Average.278
7.2Runs / Game4.7
20Home Runs17
7Errors16