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Royals sweep Twins

Sep 15, 2011 - 12:16 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Mike Moustakas went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored to help Kansas City sweep a two-game set against Minnesota with a 7-3 win.

Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored while Johnny Giavotella drove in two runs for the Royals, who tied their season high with their fourth straight win. Luke Hochevar (11-11) went six innings in the win, giving up two runs on five hits.

"Our offense is really swinging the bats real good right now," said Kansas City manager Ned Yost. "It's a well-balanced attack and it's nice to see things coming around right now."

Michael Cuddyer had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Twins, who have lost five straight and 10 of 11. Liam Hendriks (0-2) was tagged for five runs on eight hits over five innings in his second career start.

"We haven't played good baseball the whole year," said Cuddyer. "We had that little stretch, June into July when we played well, but we haven't played well."

The second inning saw the Royals jump on top on an RBI single from Moustakas followed by a sac fly from Giavotella for a 2-0 lead.

The Twins got one back in the fourth on a run-scoring single off the bat of Danny Valencia, but the Royals answered with three runs in the home half. Moustakas' single scored Eric Hosmer and Giavotella then scored Jeff Francoeur when he reached base on a bad throw from Trevor Plouffe. Perez then hit a double to right to plate Giavotella for a 5-1 lead.

Jason Kubel's RBI groundout in the sixth made it a 5-2 game, but Perez and Alex Gordon hit run-scoring singles in the sixth for a five-run lead.

Cuddyer worked a bases loaded walk in the seventh that plated Ben Revere with two outs, but Tim Collins struck out Kubel to end the frame.

Greg Holland came on to pitch for the Royals with one out and two men on in the ninth and promptly walked Cuddyer to load the bases. However, he got Kubel to fly out and Valencia to strike out for his third save of the season.

Game Notes

The Twins host Cleveland for three games starting on Friday...The Royals host the White Sox for a four-game set starting on Thursday...Despite the sweep, Minnesota leads the season series, 8-7. These two teams will meet in Minnesota from Sept. 26-28 to close out the season...Hochevar improved to 4-3 in 12 career meetings with Minnesota.