KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Chuck Knoblauch, Michael Tucker and Raul Ibanez backed Miguel Ascencio with solo home runs Sunday as the Kansas City Royals avoided a four-game sweep with a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Knoblauch opened the game with his 31st career leadoff homer and Tucker and Ibanez homered in the next two innings, giving the Royals a 3-0 lead.
Kansas City, which finished just 5-14 against Minnesota this season, made it 4-0 in the sixth on doubles by Tucker and Neifi Perez.
Ascencio (3-4) blanked the Twins until giving up a two-run homer to Dustan Mohr in the seventh, ending a seven-start winless streak. He surrendered two runs and five hits in seven innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
Kyle Lohse (11-8) took the loss, yielding three runs and five hits in five innings.
Minnesota's Cristian Guzman extended his hitting streak to 23 games with a single in the sixth inning. It matches the longest streak by a Twin since Marty Cordova in 1996.
Scott Mullen tossed a scoreless eighth before Roberto Hernandez recorded the final three outs for his 24th save in 31 chances.
