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Plouffe powers Twins to comeback win over Royals

Jul 15, 2011 - 4:56 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Trevor Plouffe, recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, made the most of his second call-up of the season with a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, helping the Twins nip the Royals, 8-4, in the division foes' first game after the All-Star break.

Delmon Young, fresh off the disabled list, went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Joe Mauer added a two-run single during a four-run seventh that put the game away for the Twins, who have won 10 of their last 13.

Francisco Liriano (6-7) earned the win after allowing three runs -- one earned -- on seven hits in his seven-inning start.

Bruce Chen (5-3) worked out of jams early but was eventually touched for four runs on nine hits over five innings to take the loss, Kansas City's fourth in five games.

"Bruce wasn't sharp. He was in-and-out of trouble ... and then the roof caved in," Royals manager Ned Yost said of his starter.

The Twins started their 12-game homestand on a slow note, trailing 3-0 before rallying for four two-out runs in the fifth.

Michael Cuddyer started the comeback with a walk and raced around when Danny Valencia caught the line in right field for an RBI double. Young followed with a two-bagger over Alex Gordon's head in left, and Plouffe put the Twins in front for good by sending one off the left-field foul pole in his first game with the big club since June 1.

"I knew [the slider] was coming and got the barrel on it," Plouffe said. "I was screaming a lot louder on the inside than I was on the outside for it to stay fair."

Minnesota tacked on four more runs off Blake Wood in the seventh. Wood gave up a leadoff single and walked three of the next four batters, forcing in a run on a four-pitch free pass to Ben Revere.

Wood was mercifully pulled after hitting Alexi Casilla to push another run across, and Mauer greeted Everett Teaford with a two-run single for a healthy 8-3 lead.

Melky Cabrera's sacrifice fly in the ninth accounted for Kansas City's final run.

Both teams loaded the bases in the first inning, and fielding played a big part in the Royals coming away with a 2-0 lead. With two outs and bags full in the top half, Liriano threw a slider in the dirt that got away from Mauer. The backstop recovered the wild pitch and flipped it back to the plate, but Liriano was slow in getting there and the ball got away, allowing two unearned runs to score.

Cabrera helped maintain the lead by catching Valencia's fly ball in center and throwing out Casilla at home to end the bottom half.

The Royals scored again in the fourth when Mike Moustakas doubled and came around on Brayan Pena's base hit.

Game Notes

The Royals faced back-to-back pitchers who have thrown no-hitters this season. Liriano threw one against the White Sox on May 3, and Justin Verlander, who pitched the Tigers to a 2-1 win over Kansas City on Sunday, no-hit the Blue Jays on May 7...Minnesota has won five straight meetings against the Royals...Young had been sidelined with a sprained right ankle...The Twins won despite leaving 12 runners on base...Kansas City went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.