KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nori Aoki drove in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning Wednesday night, sending the Kansas City Royals to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Billy Butler and Salvador Perez each drove in a pair of runs during the surge, which came after the Twins' Phil Hughes had stymied the Royals for the first seven innings.

Wade Davis pitched a perfect eighth to earn his second straight win, and All-Star closer Greg Holland worked around a single in the ninth to cap a second straight late-game win.

The Royals extended their lead over Detroit to 2 1/2 games in the AL Central with their 11th win in their past 13 games at Kauffman Stadium. They've won four straight over the Twins.

Minnesota has lost four straight and eight of 11 overall.

Meanwhile, manager Ned Yost is imploring fans to show up for their remaining home games. Kansas City entered the game with the fifth-worst average attendance in the league.

The New York Yankees dropped the Tigers another game behind the Royals while pulling within six games of AL East-leading Baltimore.

The Yanks chased David Price with nine straight hits in an eight-run third inning that led to an 8-4 romp in Detroit. Derek Jeter doubled home the Yankees' first run and capped the outburst with a sacrifice fly.

Shawn Greene gave up just two runs and five hits while striking out eighth in seven innings.

Drew Smyly helped the Yankees by limiting the Orioles to two hits in seven innings of Tampa Bay's 3-1 win at Baltimore. He and the Rays' bullpen blanked the O's after Chris Davis homered in the second inning.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Gordon Beckham and Mike Trout each hit solo homers and drove in two runs as the Los Angeles Angels beat Miami 6-1 to keep their one-game lead over Oakland in the AL West. Hector Santiago was effective over 5 2/3 innings, yielding just one run and three hits while striking out six.

— Sam Fuld hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer while the A's put together a three-run ninth to beat the Astros 5-4 in Houston. Fuld had three hits and Eric Sogard singled home the tying run in the ninth.

— Clayton Kershaw is the majors' first 16-game winner after allowing no earned runs and six hits while striking out 10 in eight innings of the Dodgers' 3-1 triumph at Arizona. Matt Kemp hit a two-run double and Scott Van Slyke added a solo homer to help Kershaw improve to 16-3.

— The Dodgers continue to pace the NL West by five games over San Francisco. Buster Posey ripped a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to complete the Giants' 4-2 win over Colorado. Posey had three hits and three RBIs for the Giants, who still own a 1 ½-game lead over Pittsburgh and Atlanta for the final NL wild-card berth.

— Milwaukee still leads the NL Central by 1 1/2 games over St. Louis after the Brewers blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning of a 3-2, 10-inning loss at San Diego. Rene Rivera led the Padres to victory by leading off the ninth with a homer before delivering a walkoff single.

— Ike Davis hit a big homer for the second straight game, a two-run blast in the second inning of Pittsburgh's 3-1 win over the Cardinals. Jeff Locke gave up a run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings to outpitch Adam Wainwright, who was trying to become the majors' first 16-game winner of the season.

— Washington's lead in the NL East is down to 6 ½ games over Atlanta after Marlon Byrd and pinch-hitter Grady Sizemore belted two-run homers and Jimmy Rollins added a solo shot in the Phillies' 8-4 triumph over the Nationals. The Nationals had won 12 of 13 before they absorbed a three-game sweep in Philadelphia.

— Jason Heyward hit a leadoff homer and Julio Teheran allowed a run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings of the Braves' 3-2 triumph over the New York Mets. Zack Wheeler lost for the first time in 11 starts despite allowing just two earned runs and four hits in seven innings.

— Mat Latos struck out 10 over seven-plus innings as Cincinnati downed the Chicago Cubs 7-5. Cubs outfield prospect Jorge Soler homered in his first major league at-bat.

— In Seattle, Rougned Odor hit a third-inning grand slam and Colby Lewis tossed a seven-hitter as Texas clobbered the Mariners 12-4. Leonys Martin smacked a two-run homer and had three RBIs, while Tomas Telis added a three-run double as part of the Rangers' 11-hit attack.

— The White Sox had dropped seven straight before Jose Abreu's second RBI single of the night put Chicago ahead to stay in a 3-2 victory against Cleveland. Winning pitcher Hector Noesi gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings as the Pale Hose ended the Indians' three-game winning streak.

— Pinch-hitter Danny Valencia smacked a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Toronto over Boston 5-2. Jose Bautista also homered to back Marcus Stroman, who allowed one earned run and five hits in 7 2/3 innings.

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