KANSAS CITY http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-scott-kazmir-jersey , Mo. (AP) — Ian Kennedy, Alex Gordon and the rest of the Royals‘ veterans have been watching as their talented young teammates delivered win after win during a surprising late-season surge.They finally got a piece of the action Saturday night.Kennedy pitched six innings to earn his first win since the first week of April, Gordon drove in five runs, and the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 10-3 for their fifth win in six games.Another of the old guard, Alcides Escobar, had three RBIs while finishing a homer shy of the cycle, and Cam Gallagher ended a 0-for-14 skid with a career-best four hits, in a blowout that set Kansas City up for a shot at a four-game sweep of its AL Central rivals on Sunday.“We’re not looking at it like that. We feel like we’re a quality team that’s playing well right now,” Gordon said. “Whether you’re young or old, it doesn’t really matter.”Kennedy (2-8) allowed six hits while striking out four in his second start since a two-month stint on the disabled list. The right-hander allowed only Ehire Adrianza’s RBI single in the second and Logan Forsythe’s run-scoring hit in the fifth to earn his second home win in two years.“I just knew it had been a long time Kurt Suzuki Jersey ,” said Kennedy, who ended a 17-start winless streak with his first since April 7. “It was the first win since last September that I got at home. I did know that.”Gordon had an RBI groundout in the first, a two-run double in the fourth and another two-run double in the sixth. He finished one RBI shy of his career best, set against Baltimore on May 18, 2014.“He had some fantastic at-bats,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “His focus has been beating the shift and I told him he was like Rod Carew tonight, peppering it down the left-field line.”Most of the damage came against Chase De Jong (0-1), who was pounded for five runs — three earned — on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. It was a far different from his start against the Royals last week, when De Jong allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in a game the Twins won 3-1.This time, Kansas City jumped out to a 2-1 lead before a four-run fourth provided a comfortable cushion. Escobar started the scoring with an RBI triple http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-dansby-swanson-jersey , then scored when he was caught in a run-down and the throw toward home hit him in the back and bounced away.Twins skipper Paul Molitor and third base coach Gene Glynn took exception with the umpiring on the play, and both earned their second ejections of the season. That meant they weren’t around to see Gordon add a two-run double later in the inning and give Kansas City a 6-2 advantage.The Royals’ longtime outfielder hit his second two-run double a couple innings later, his third hit of the night, before grounding out in his final at-bat.“It was nice. I’m proud of the way Alex has continued to battle back,” Yost said. “He had a rough year last year. He’s worked hard and it’s paying off for him.”ON THE TOSSMolitor said he came out to question whether Gallagher had squared to bunt on a suicide-squeeze in the fourth inning, when he got ejected. “We didn’t execute the play and that was probably what had my emotion kind of high anyway,” he said. “They were giving us an out there and take a runner out of scoring position and we can’t execute. So, I didn’t bother to look at it. We didn’t get the call. I wasn’t happy at the time. I stepped out of the dugout, which you can’t do on a ball-and-strike call, which is why I got tossed as quickly as I did.”TRAINER’S ROOMTwins: C Mitch Garver (concussion) did some light cardio Saturday after his team sent him back to the hotel the previous night. Garver took a foul ball off his mask Wednesday Ozzie Albies Jersey , and he began to feel the effects of a concussion taking batting practice Friday. “He’s not doing as well as we had hoped,” Molitor said. “We are labeling it in the concussion category. And with all concussions kind of being unique in themselves, we’ll just have to see how he progresses.”Royals: RHP Jorge Lopez (bruised ribs) had an MRI exam that came back clean, and Yost said he’s day-to-day. Jopez left in the fifth inning of Friday night’s game. He fell three outs shy of a perfect game his previous start last Saturday at Minnesota.UP NEXTRoyals RHP Jakob Junis (8-12, 4.28 ERA) tries to keep his hot streak going in the series finale against RHP Kyle Gibson (7-13, 3.67) and the Twins. Junis has a 2.83 ERA over 10 starts since returning from the disabled list on July 21, and has 58 strikeouts in 60 innings. CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rizzo walked the Cubs to a wild victory.Rizzo walked with the bases loaded in the seventh inning after Jason Heyward broke up a no-hitter with a two-run single in the sixth, and Chicago beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday.In the first meeting between the teams since they beat Washington in the NL Division Series, the Cubs won even though they didn’t get a hit against Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson.Heyward finally broke through against Sammy Solis (1-2) with two outs in the sixth. But just as big was Rizzo walking three times. He sparked the tying rally with one in a 13-pitch at-bat before forcing in the go-ahead run with another in the seventh.Manager Joe Maddon got ejected, but the Cubs pulled out the victory.“The second one obviously was a big one for us http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-mike-foltynewicz-jersey ,” Rizzo said. “(Hellickson) was cruising, really hitting his spots.”Hellickson retired 17 in a row after issuing a leadoff walk to Rizzo in the first. But things took a wild turn with two out in the sixth.He walked Rizzo on 13 pitches and both Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist on four to load the bases.Heyward took two balls from Solis before lining a tying two-run single past second baseman Daniel Murphy.“I think I tried everything,” Hellickson said. “That’s why (Rizzo is) one of the best hitters in our game.”Chicago grabbed a 3-2 lead in the seventh after Maddon got tossed for arguing an interference call against Willson Contreras on the bases. The Cubs thought they had runners on second and third after Kyle Schwarber led off with a single and third baseman Anthony Rendon’s throw sailed down the right-field line.Instead, he got called for interference, leading to Maddon’s second ejection this season. He argued with plate umpire Bill Miller and went to first to demonstrate his point that first baseman Ryan Zimmerman could not have caught the throw, anyway.Maddon called it “obviously a horrific call” that rewards defenses and penalizes offenses and said the umpires should be allowed to “exercise judgment.”But Miller insisted: “In this situation, (Contreras) interfered with the first baseman’s ability to catch the ball. Because he was running inside fair territory — he was not running in the lane.”Schwarber had to go back to first. But he eventually scored when Greg Holland walked Rizzo after Ian Happ and Addison Russell singled to load the bases, putting the Cubs on top.Kyle Hendricks gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings for Chicago, and five relievers combined to hold the Nationals scoreless the rest of the way.Steve Cishek (3-1) struck out the final two batters in the seventh. Carl Edwards Jr. got three outs in the eighth after former Washington pitcher Brandon Kintzler walked the first two batters. Contreras picked Juan Soto off first from his knees before Mark Reynolds flied out and Murphy grounded out, and Pedro Strop worked the ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances.Hellickson gave up two runs Danny Santana Jersey , walked four and struck out three. Murphy had three hits and a run, but the Nationals came up short after a 7-3 homestand.CUBS MOVESThe Cubs signed veteran left-hander Jorge De La Rosa and transferred righty Yu Darvish to the 60-day disabled list to make room for him on the 40-man roster. Chicago also optioned left-hander Randy Rosario to Triple-A Iowa to create a spot for De La Rosa on the active roster.TRAINER’S ROOMNationals: OF Bryce Harper was back in the lineup after being scratched from Thursday’s game against Atlanta because of a sore right knee. … Martinez said RHP Stephen Strasburg (cervical nerve impingement) is scheduled for about a 60-pitch bullpen session Saturday and will pitch in a simulated game on Wednesday. Martinez said he thinks Strasburg will need to go on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the rotation. … RHP Erick Fedde (shoulder inflammation) threw in the bullpen in the bullpen on Friday.Cubs: The Cubs plan to have Darvish — sidelined since May 20 because of triceps and elbow injuries — throw at least one more simulated game before going on a minor league rehab assignment. … Ben Zobrist (sore hip) started in right field after missing Wednesday’s game at Kansas City.UP NEXTNationals: RHP Tanner Roark (6-12, 4.21 ERA) looks to win his fourth straight start.Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (12-4, 3.44) hopes to return to form after going 0-2 with an 8.53 ERA in his past four starts.