Bewerbungen » Babcock said of Brown, who was p

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It had been a long time since the Kansas City Royals spilled out of the dugout at Kauffman Stadium to celebrate a victory. One month, to be exact. A month marked by offensive ineptitude, late-inning let-downs, a shake-up of the coaching staff and the return of Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett as the Royals interim hitting coach. On Wednesday night, the scuffling team got just enough pitching from Jeremy Guthrie and its bullpen, and just enough hitting from David Lough and Billy Butler, to deliver a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins that ended its franchise-record 11-game home losing streak. "We had to grind it out," Royals manager Ned Yost said with relief. That they did. The Twins jumped out to a first-inning lead off Guthrie (6-3), but the right-hander escaped a bases-loaded jam with the help of a nice catch by first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Royals answered in the bottom half when Hosmer reached second on an error and Salvador Perez drove him in with a single. P.J. Walters (2-1) walked the bases loaded, and Loughs two-run double with two down provided enough runs for Kansas City for the rest of the night. Aaron Crow got the Royals out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth. Greg Holland put the first two runners aboard in the ninth before striking out Justin Morneau, Ryan Doumit and Chris Parmelee for his 10th save of the season. Just like that, the Royals finally had a win at the K. "We hadnt just been playing bad here. Wed been playing bad in general, everywhere weve been," said Butler, who had three hits and drove in an insurance run in the seventh inning. "Hopefully this gets us going, gives us a little momentum boost," Butler said, "and hopefully we can carry this over to tomorrow, a tumble effect -- it snowballs and we start building some confidence." Josh Willingham drove in the only run for the Twins, who left 14 on base. "A tough night offensively for us," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We put a lot of people on the bases. You can all see that big number, leaving 14 on base. You leave that many men out there, you had plenty of chances." Guthrie made like Houdini by allowing just one run while putting nine on base. The result was his first victory since May 9, and the first by any Royals starter in their last 19 games. "It would have been nice to get to him early, especially in the first, but weve got to go out there and attack him," Parmelee said. "We didnt do that tonight." When the Twins did, the Royals defence was there to pick Guthrie up. Hosmer robbed a fan of a foul ball when he made a catch near the Royals dugout with the bases loaded to end the first. Then in the third, second baseman Chris Getz made a diving play to his left to take a hit away from Doumit and likely save a run. "That was a phenomenal play," Yost said. Walters gave up seven hits and three walks in six innings, but his three runs were unearned after shortstop Pedro Florimon threw the ball away on Hosmers grounder in the first inning. The Twins defence tried to atone for the gaffe later in the game. After Walters allowed a pair of singles to start the third, Mike Moustakas grounded into a double play to scuttle the inning. Walters also gave up a single leading off the fourth before Getz grounded into a double play, one that proved timely when Alcides Escobar tripled moments later. "We lost. I gave up three runs and we lost by three. Earned or not, theyre still my runs," Walter said. "It was one of those days where I was little erratic and had to battle through it." The middle innings were played through a persistent mist that at times turned to rain, giving the sparsely populated bowl of the stadium the look of a car wash. But the grounds crew kept the infield dry, and crew chief Tom Hallion never appeared close to calling for the tarp. Much to the relief of the Royals. After enduring 11 straight home losses, they didnt want anything to hold up a long-awaited win. "Tough streak," Butler said. "Im glad its over." NOTES: Royals OF Jarrod Dyson (right ankle sprain) did sprints before the game and is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon. LHP Danny Duffy (Tommy John surgery) said on Twitter hes headed to Triple-A Omaha after starting his rehab stint at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. ... RHP Mike Pelfrey will pitch the series finale for Minnesota on Thursday night. RHP Wade Davis starts for Kansas City.Kevin Durant Warriors Jersey . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Chris Mullin Warriors Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/Alec-Burks-City-Edition-Jersey/ . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Tim Hardaway Warriors Jersey . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Nick Young Warriors Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51.TORONTO -- Connor Brown is having fun playing for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.On Thursday night, the 22-year-old rookie came through with the best game of his career in from of the home fans.Brown had two goals and two assists for a career-high four points to lead the Maple Leafs to a 6-1 victory over the Florida Panthers for their seventh win in nine home games.It really is a dream come true playing in your home city, Brown said. I was a Toronto Maple Leaf fan my whole life. Its a pretty awesome experience.Mitch Marner had another impressive goal, and Leo Komarov, James van Riemsdyk and Jake Gardiner also scored for the Maple Leafs. Nazem Kadri had two assists and Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots.All but one of Torontos eight wins this season have come at home.I think every time you step on home ice you still cant believe it, said Marner, who grew up in nearby Thornhill, Ontario. A hundred years of this team and luckily enough were part of that now.The win spoiled Florida goalie James Reimers first start in Toronto since leaving the Maple Leafs in the offseason. Reimer finished with 24 saves an d Aaron Ekblad scored the lone goal for the Panthers.The Maple Leafs got to their former goalie quickly, scoring three times in the first period -- including two by Brown.Brown deflected Morgan Riellys point shot past a surprised Reimer nearly six minutes in. The goal was initially ruled off for a high stick, but was later overturned on video review.After Ekblad evened the score at 1-1 with only his fourth point of the season -- all goals -- Brown scored again. This time, he eluded a check along the boards by Ekblad, continued a hard drive down the right side of the ice and then flung a shot on goal as he avoided a diving Jason Demers.Brown crashed into the boards and popped up with a visor full of snow after the shot beat Reimer, who was taken aback by the goal once more.Signed to a five-year, $17 million deal in the summer, Reimer is 2-3-1 record in his first seven games with Florida.ddddddddddddarner padded the lead to two as he gained control of the puck just inside the Florida blue line, took a step on defenseman Michael Matheson and then made a series of dekes to beat Reimer.He was still fighting off the advances of Matheson prior to scoring, waiting until the last possible moment to slide the puck from backhand to forehand, tucking it just around the left pad of the goalie.I was really committed on going to the backhand, Marner said. Last second, I kind of just wanted to try and make a move and see what happens.Marner now has six goals and 10 points in his last seven games, trailing only Winnipeg winger Patrik Laine in rookie scoring (16 points).Brown added his third point when he lofted a pass to Komarov on a Toronto rush, the Finnish winger flipping a shot past Reimer for the 4-1 lead. He notched his fourth point on Gardiners third of the year late in the third.The line of Brown, Komarov and Kadri not only managed to score a bunch but shut down the Panthers top unit, which features Aleksander Barkov and 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr.We can play him against real good players, which is positive, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said of Brown, who was playing in only his 24th game.Van Riemsdyk, coming off his first hat trick as a Leaf on Tuesday, got the Leafs fifth goal late in the second. He picked off a flubbed pass by Dylan McIlrath in the Florida zone and beat Reimer.Game notesVan Riemsdyk has a team-leading eight goals and 17 points. ... Toronto rookie sensation Auston Matthews remained without a goal for the 11th consecutive game. The 19-year-old has only two assists in that span. ... Browns previous career high of three points also came against Florida late last season. ...UP NEXTPanthers: At Ottawa on Saturday night.Maple Leafs: At Montreal on Saturday night. ' ' '