MINNEAPOLIS -- Ervin Santana heard his name bandied about in trade rumours in recent weeks, with yet another season threatening to swirl down the drain in Kansas City. Thanks to a post-All-Star break surge, the Royals no longer appear to be in selling mode. Mike Moustakas homered twice and drove in four runs to back another strong start by Santana, and the Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory. Santana (7-6) gave up two runs on four hits and struck out eight in seven innings and Eric Hosmer had three hits and an RBI for the Royals, who have won nine of 11 coming out of the All-Star break. At 52-51, they are over .500 for the first time since May 18. "Everything so far (is going right)," Santana said. "Our defence, offence, pitching very good. Everything is very good for us right now." Mike Pelfrey (4-9) gave up four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in four innings for the Twins. Joe Mauer had two hits and an RBI after missing the last week for the birth of his twin girls. Santana retired the last 10 batters he faced, striking out five of them. Miguel Tejada added two hits and an RBI. "Hes the magic man," Moustakas said of Santana. "Its awesome. Any time he goes out on the mound, you know hes going to deal, you know hes going to hold them under two runs and we just gotta go score a couple for him." After missing six games on paternity leave, Mauer promptly ripped a single to left field on the first pitch he saw from Santana for a 1-0 lead. "It felt good to get out there," Mauer said. "I havent been out there in a while. But I was surprisingly good with the timing at the plate. Im pleased, I guess, with that." The Royals were having difficulty squaring the ball up against Pelfrey in the early going, with Tejada picking up two bloop singles, the last a dribbler up the middle that got Kansas City on the board in the third. Moustakas followed with a long, three-run homer to right-centre, one of the deepest parts of Target Field. Moustakas drove a pitch from Brian Duensing over the wall in right field in the eighth for his second career multi-homer game. "Taking hundreds of swings every day and just trying to get that good feel back," said Moustakas, who is hitting .303 with three homers since the break. "Feeling the barrel and today I found it. Keep working and keep building off of this." The spectre of the non-waiver trade deadline on Wednesday afternoon was hanging over both teams as they opened the series. The Twins are mired in their third straight losing season, a miserable, lifeless year in which theyve shown few signs of being competitive in an AL Central division that could be the worst in baseball. Longtime cornerstone Justin Morneau has heard his name raised in trade rumours, as have several of the teams accomplished relievers, including setup man Jared Burton and left-hander Duensing. General manager Terry Ryan said before the game that it was no secret the team was in sell mode, but he said he couldnt make a prediction of whether a deal would get done before the deadline at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Santana took the mound with his name bandied about as a possible trade candidate as well. That he was allowed to pitch against the Twins could be a strong indication that hes unlikely to change teams. While the White Sox pulled Jake Peavy from his scheduled start against the Indians on Tuesday night amid trade speculation, Santana took the mound and shut down the Twins. Pitching hasnt been the problem the entire year for the Royals. But now that their offence appears to be coming around, things are looking up. "We feel like Moose has been coming. (Hosmer) has been coming," manager Ned Yost said. "These kids are really starting to swing the bat really well." NOTES: Moustakas first career multi-homer game was on June 24, 2012, against St. Louis. ... Royals 2B Chris Getz (left knee) and CF Lorenzo Cain (groin) were given the day off to rest nagging injuries. Both are day to day. ... Twins 2B Brian Dozier had an MRI on a sore knee, but Ryan said the exam came back clean. He was held out of the game for precautionary reasons. ... The Twins send RHP Kevin Correia (7-7, 4.56) to the mound for Game 2 on Wednesday night to face Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-7, 4.27). Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Nike Jerseys . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Nike Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-san-diego-padres-nike-jerseys .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Custom Cleveland Indians Nike Jerseys . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Custom Seattle Mariners Nike Jerseys . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. The NFL has suspended?New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for one game without pay for violating the leagues personal conduct policy.The move, announced by the league on Wednesday, means Brown will miss the Giants season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11.Brown can still participate in preseason games and practices. The league did not announce what Brown had done in violation of the policy.According to documents obtained by NJ Advance Media, Brown was arrested in May 2015 on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. He was booked into jail and released on $2,000 bond.?According to the police report, Brown grabbed the victims wrist during a quarrel while the victim was picking up a phone.?While I do not agree with the suspension, I will accept it, Brown said in a statement released by the Giants. I have exhausted the appeals process and have no other options along those lines.I will continue to work hard for this team, and I have tremendous confidence in my teammates and in my ability to move on and contribute to the team.ddddddddddddBrown is entering his 14th season in the league, and he has spent the past three seasons with the Giants. He made 30 of 32 field goal attempts last season.The one-game suspension will cost Brown $72,058 in base salary. He also loses out on $15,625 as part of his per game roster bonus, so the suspension will cost him a total of $87,683.The Giants have two kickers currently on their roster, with Tom Obarski and Brown. Obarski, a second-year player out of Concordia State who has never attempted a kick, could replace Brown against the Cowboys.Information from ESPNs Jordan Raanan was used in this report. ' ' '
