MINNEAPOLIS -- Sitting in his office about 10 feet away from the Kansas City Royals locker room, manager Ned Yosts voice was nearly drown out by the thunderous hip hop music blaring and the full-throated cackling from his players in the next room. The young Royals have good reason to celebrate these days. Alcides Escobar tied a career high with four RBIs on two doubles and Salvador Perez homered to lift the Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night. "Thats what we need," Perez said. "Have some fun and play the game hard." Danny Duffy (5-7) gave up one run and four hits while striking out three in 5 2-3 innings and Mike Moustakas had two hits for the Royals. Kansas City (43-39) has won three of four and is off to its best start since 2003. "Were very confident in what we have in the tank," Duffy said. "Weve got a great offence, great lineup. The defence is always flashing the leather. When we go out there and make pitches, its going to be a good night." Yohan Pino (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits while also striking out three in 5 2-3 innings for the Twins. Eduardo Nunez had two hits and an RBI in his return from the disabled list for Minnesota, which has lost six of its last seven games to drop into last place in the AL Central. "Weve been facing some pretty decent pitching, and I dont know if its pressing," said manager Ron Gardenhire, whose Twins went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. "I just know were just not getting enough big hits right now. Were not putting any runs on the board. A lot of pressure on our pitchers to be really good." The Royals entered the night 3 1/2 games behind Detroit in the division and 1 1/2 games out of the AL wild card. For a team that has been endlessly rebuilding and hasnt made the playoffs since 1985, those are encouraging numbers as the season reaches its midpoint. They grabbed everyones attention with a 10-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place in June, but had lost seven of 10 games as the bats cooled off. The Royals signed 42-year-old Raul Ibanez on Monday, hoping he can help boost the teams scuffling offence and give a little extra support to a solid starting rotation. Ibanez broke into the big leagues with the Royals a decade ago, but hit just .157 in 57 games for the Angels this season. They had plenty of offence with him on the bench on Monday night. Pino was shaky early, getting tagged for a two-run double by Escobar in the second inning and an RBI-single from Alex Gordon in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. Perezs solo homer in the sixth ended Pinos day and the Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth, padding their lead with Escobars second two-run double of the game. "When youre not going good, youre not capitalizing on mistakes," Yost said. "When youre playing well, you do capitalize on mistakes. Thats exactly what we did tonight, which was big. Those were two big runs right there. Thats a lot of breathing room." NOTES: Twins GM Terry Ryan said prized prospect Byron Buxton is getting close to returning from a wrist injury that has kept him out for most of the season. Ryan said there still is no timetable for a return, but hed be surprised if Buxton wasnt back on the field sometime in July. ... Twins RF Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double in the fifth inning. ... Moustakas made two stellar plays at 3B, a lunging catch on a liner by Kendrys Morales in the second and a scoop and force out at 3B to end a threat in the seventh. ... Twins RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-6, 5.74) will start the second game of the series against RHP James Shields (8-3, 3.79). Cheap Adidas Nmd White .com) - Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was named the National League Player of the Month for April. Cheap Adidas Nmd Human Race China . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. http://www.nmdsneakerssale.com/. The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League. Cheap Mens Nmd Shoes . The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. Adidas Nmd Wholesale China .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Angel Cabrera never knows when hes going to play his best golf. This could be shaping up as one of those weeks at the Wells Fargo Championship. On a Quail Hollow course that lets the Argentine hit driver on just about every hole, two exquisite short-game shots late in the second round carried Cabrera to a 3-under 69 on Friday and a share of the lead with Martin Flores going into the weekend. It was the first time Cabrera had at least a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. The last time he was part of the lead after any round was in the 2013 Masters. With one of the most powerful and reliable swings in golf, the mystery about the 44-year-old Argentine is that his only two on the PGA Tour are majors -- Oakmont for the U.S. Open, and Augusta National when he won the Masters in a playoff in 2009. "Im of course happy to be in position to win this tournament, but every time I go out and play, Im hoping to win," Cabrera said. "Its difficult to know exactly when youre going to play well. I dont think anybody knows when theyre going to play well." Flores couldnt ask for a better start, and his finish wasnt too bad, either. Flores began his second round birdie-eagle when he holed out with a wedge from 105 yards in the 11th fairway. He added a pair of birdies late in his round for a 68. They were at 9-under 135, one shot ahead of Justin Rose, who had a 67. Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy went the other direction. Mickelson, one shot out of the lead to start the second round and perfect conditions ahead of him, seemed to miss every putt that he made on Thursday. He had a 75 and fell seven shots out of the lead. "I cant believe the difference in putting from yesterday to today," Mickelson said. "Yesterday, I saw every ball go in the hole. And today I couldnt get them to fall and was three-putting, which is funny because the greens today were so perfect. ... I struggled today. I dont have any great reason. It didnt feel far off. "I just struggled getting the ball in the hole." So did McIlroy, starting with a three-putt from 18 feet on the second hole. He drove behind a tree on the third hole and hit into a bush on the fourth hole, both times taking a penalty drop and making double bogey. He wound up with a 76 and made the cut on the number at 1-over 145. McIlroy missed five putts from 6 feet oor closer.dddddddddddd "I just didnt have my game today," McIlroy said. "Off the tee it was good. I didnt get the ball close enough. My putting didnt feel as comfortable as it did yesterday." The 16th hole sized up his day. McIlroy blasted a tee shot beyond the crest of the hill, a 375-yard drive that left him a simple wedge to the green. He wound up making bogey when he missed from just inside 4 feet. The biggest turnaround in the other direction belonged to Brendon de Jonge, who grew up in Zimbabwe and now lives in Charlotte. He opened with an 80, and followed that by tying the course record at Quail Hollow with a 62. Now hes tied with Mickelson. "Strange game," de Jonge said. The leaderboard was filled with players trying to win for the first time. Flores is in his fourth full season on the PGA Tour and has never finished in the top three. Shawn Stefani had a 68 and was two shots behind, while Kevin Kisner had a 66 and was three back. Mike Weir is the top Canadian in the field after the second round. The Brights Grove, Ont., native is tied for 39th, while David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is in a tie for 47th. And there are plenty of major champions who havent been heard from much over the last few years. Martin Kaymer (2010 PGA Championship) had his second straight round of 69. Stewart Cink (2009 British Open) salvaged bogey from the water on the 17th and finished with a birdie for a 70. They were in the group at 6-under 138. Geoff Ogilvy (2006 U.S. Open) had seven birdies in his round of 67 and was four shots behind. Leading the way was Cabrera, who only seems to win majors. He made his move late with four birdies, and the last two were superb. Cabrera hit 8-iron over the lip of a fairway bunker on the par-5 seventh hole, but left himself 40 yards from a front pin. He played a pitch-and-run to about 5 feet behind the hole for a birdie to tie for the lead. "The chip was more complicated," he said. "I needed to decide if I wanted to bring it up or keep it low and let it bump, so I ended up doing that. It was a great shot." Then, he judged perfectly with a flop shot out of the rough from in front of the short par-4 eighth hole, and made the 3-foot putt for birdie to take the lead. He drove into the rough on the ninth, clipped the top of a tree and sent his ball into a bunker and failed to save par. ' ' '