MINNEAPOLIS -- Kansas Citys James Shields is accustomed to pitching in close games this season. He kept his team in the game until the Royals were able to break through late. Shields was sharp for 7 1-3 innings, Alex Gordon had three RBIs, and Kansas City scored five runs in the eighth inning to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Tuesday. "The way Shields was pitching, it was like, Ok, just hold em until we can break something open," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Finally, in the eighth it got broken open." Shields -- the key part in the deal that sent top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay in the off-season -- struck out seven and notched his American-League best 22nd quality start. Shields (9-8) went over the .500 mark and only allowed one hit through seven innings before running into trouble and leaving in the eighth. While the wins havent been there for Shields, hes pitched well. "Ive got a ton of quality starts this year and I feel like Ive been pitching well all year," Shields said. "The wins are going to come. Im not really too worried about it. Im just going to keep grinding out the rest of the season and hope for the best." Kevin Correia struck out a season-high seven over seven shutout innings, but ended up with a no-decision. Brian Dozier had the Twins RBI. Seven consecutive Royals hitters reached base in a five-run eighth that broke open a scoreless game and handed reliever Jared Burton (2-8) his third loss to Kansas City this season. The first two runs scored on a bloop single from Chris Getz and a Jarrod Dyson bunt. Gordon followed with a bases-clearing double down the right-field line that made it 5-0 and sent most of the fans at a steamy Target Field heading for the exits. Burton also lost Sunday in Cleveland. "Ill talk to Burton a little bit tomorrow about what he did and how he felt and what he was thinking, and then we move on," Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said. Billy Butler hit his 14th home run in the ninth. After losing seven straight and damaging their playoff chances, the Royals have won three in a row. "You have to fight through it," Dyson said. "Thats the great part about us. We fight through everything." After walking Ryan Doumit in the second, Shields retired 14 of the next 15 batters and held the Twins until the offence got him some support. Wade Davis, the other pitcher Kansas City acquired in the Myers deal, hasnt been nearly as effective and was demoted to the bullpen on Tuesday. Danny Duffy will be called up on Wednesday from Triple-A Omaha and take Davis slot in the rotation. The Twins have struggled to score since All-Star Joe Mauer went on the disabled list a week ago with a concussion. Minnesota had a chance to cut into the lead after Doziers double chased Shields and made it 5-1 in the eighth. But Will Smith struck out Chris Herrmann and Justin Morneau with runners on second and third to end the threat. The Twins struck out 11 times and were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. "Good ball game until we got into the eighth, and then things kind of unraveled there, we couldnt really stop them," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The ball kept going their way, bunts, you name it, everything, stolen bases, bloops, and there you have it, a five spot." NOTES: Davis is 6-10 with a 5.67 ERA and will move to the bullpen. ... Twins general manager Terry Ryan said its still to be determined if Mauer will make the upcoming road trip to Texas. Ryan also said that Mauer is making progress in his recovery from a concussion. ... Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said OF Oswaldo Arcia will probably be out for at least a few more days with a sore hand. ... The Royals signed Carlos Pena to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. Pena, 35, hit .209 with eight homers in 85 games for Houston before being released on July 31. ... Kansas City also traded minor-league OF Quintin Berry to Boston for minor league reliever Clayton Mortensen. ... Twins 1B Chris Colabello was selected the International MVP and Rookie of the Year. He hit .352 with 24 home runs. ... The Royals bumped Bruce Chen back a day so Duffy could start Wednesdays game against the Twins. Duffy had elbow surgery last season and has made two spot starts for Kansas City in August, allowing two runs in 9 2-3 innings. ... Andrew Albers (2-1, 3.00 ERA) makes his fifth major league start for the Twins on Wednesday. Albers pitched 8 1-3 scoreless innings in his major-league debut against the Royals earlier this season. Taven Bryan Jersey . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets. Jalen Ramsey Jersey . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. http://www.thejaguarsfansshop.com/Jaguars-Calais-Campbell-Draft-Jersey/ .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Donte Moncrief Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Tashaun Gipson Jersey . The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904.DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke can finally take a breather. Rodney Hood scored 21 points to help the sixth-ranked Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech 66-48 on Tuesday night, a game that followed a demanding stretch that included games against their fiercest rival and the nations top-ranked team in a span of about 48 hours. Duke (23-6, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) completed a stretch of five games in 11 days by beating the last-place Hokies (9-18, 2-13). "We need to get away a little bit," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We need to review our stuff instead of always planning for someone elses stuff." The Blue Devils fought to the final second to hold off Maryland on Feb. 15, then travelled to Georgia Tech before losing the weather-delayed rivalry game at North Carolina. Two nights later, they held off then-No. 1 Syracuse at home, then returned once more to Cameron Indoor Stadium to beat Virginia Tech in what Krzyzewski called "a grueling stretch." "Its kind of like -- I dont know if you do this -- getting that last bit out," Krzyzewski said. "Even though youve got two full containers, youre going to get that last little bit. Today was kind of, lets get it out there." Duke doesnt play again until next Wednesdays trip to Wake Forest, followed by the regular-season finale against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8. The Blue Devils have won 32 straight home games, the longest streak in the nation. "Probably everybody in the back of their minds was looking forward to (the break)," sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon said, "but at the same time we knew we had to take care of business." Hood said the coaches didnt let the players ease into this one, jumping on them about a sluggish pregame shootaround. The Blue Devils responded by running out to a 24-4 lead midway through the first half, though they struggled to land a game-finishing blow. "We started to warm up and we came back in and they got us pretty good because we didnt look like we were ready to go out there and fight," Hood said. "I mean, weve got to be prepared for that. The ACC tournament, you can play three or four games in three or four days so theres no excuse for us.dddddddddddd. I think its taxing on us, but weve got to be ready and get rejuvenated for next week." The win, along with Clemsons loss at Wake Forest, helped secure some extra rest for the Blue Devils. They are assured a top-four seed in Greensboro and the double-round bye that comes with it. Sulaimon scored 15 points for the Blue Devils, who shot 39 per cent and went 10 for 33 from 3-point range -- well below their ACC-leading 40.7 per cent from behind the arc. Freshman Trevor Thompson matched his season-high with 15 points for Virginia Tech, which has won once since the start of the calendar year. The injury-depleted Hokies have failed to reach 60 points in 10 of those 14 games. Still, Virginia Tech shot 48 per cent after halftime to keep the Blue Devils from running away with it. Virginia Tech finished with 15 turnovers, six from freshman Devin Wilson, that led to 22 points for the Blue Devils. The Hokies also went 8 minutes without a basket in the second half as Duke crept further ahead. "They do what bothers us, that pressure defence bothers us," Hokies coach James Johnson said. "And they did a good job with that. And at that time (in the second half), were probably running out of gas a little bit." Duke ran out to a 15-2 lead on Sulaimons first 3-pointer, then pushed ahead by 20 points when Sulaimon knocked down another 3 at the 9:50 mark. Virginia Tech closed the gap to 32-20 by halftime thanks to a spark from C.J. Barksdale, who had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, and got within 34-27 on Jarell Eddies driving score with 17:59 left. But Sulaimon knocked down two 3s then reserve big man Marshall Plumlee slammed home a miss to push the lead to 51-36. The Hokies never got the lead to single digits again. Virginia Tech was short-handed once again for this game. Second-leading scorer Adam Smith (11 points) missed his 10th straight game with a left calf injury, third-leading scorer Ben Emelogu (10.8) missed his second straight with a left ankle injury while reserve forward Cadarian Raines played just 1 minute after being listed as questionable with an ankle injury. 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