Kyle Gibson threw eight innings of four-hit ball, Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar had RBI triples, and the Minnesota Twins beat the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals 2-0 Thursday night.
Gibson (6-6) stranded a pair of runners in the eighth before turning the lead over to Glen Perkins, who remained perfect in 26 save attempts. Perkins is two saves shy of matching Eddie Guardado (116) for third-most in Twins history.
The Royals’ Chris Young (7-4) dodged trouble for most of 5 1/3 innings, the only run he allowed coming on a triple by Santana in the fifth. The big, lanky right-hander turned over a 1-0 deficit to the game’s best bullpen, but his offense was unable to bail him out.
Kansas City has lost four straight.
